Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0Plattsburgh has 7.3 miles of mapped trails, 1.4 for every square mile of land
94% of residents live within a half mile of a park. The biggest trail networks: Melissa Penfield Park (1.1 mi). 7% of Plattsburgh’s land is conserved, about 246 acres.
Ahead of 84% of U.S. towns · #183 of 758 in New York. What drives it
What kind of outdoors town is Plattsburgh?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
How much outdoors does Plattsburgh have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Plattsburgh is ahead of 84% of U.S. towns, #183 of 758 in New York. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; trail miles rank highest, park acres per resident lowest.
Water is 23% of Plattsburgh’s area (2 of 7 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 6%.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Pick a walk
The longest trail network is Melissa Penfield Park, with 1.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Waterfront Park
All 15 parks & preserves
246 conserved acres
7% of Plattsburgh’s land. Water is left out: Plattsburgh has 5.4 square miles of land and 1.6 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Plattsburgh’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 12 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| City of Plattsburgh Land Local Park | Town or city | 225 | Unknown |
| Us Oval Park Local Park | Town or city | 32 | Open |
| Penfield Park Local Park | Town or city | 25 | Open |
| South Acres Park Local Park | Town or city | 16 | Open |
| Imperial Mills Dam State Resource Management Area | State conservation | 6 | Open |
| Peter S Blumette Park Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Open |
| Champlain Canal State Recreation Area | Other state land | 3 | Open |
| Cumberland Bay State Park State Park | State parks | 3 | Open |
| Fort Brown Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Macdonough Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
2 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
22 places to go in Plattsburgh
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Plus 5 beaches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Plus 10 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Plus 2 boat launches without a name on the map.
2 named trails and 3 lakes & rivers
8.6 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
25 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 6 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
13 more on the History page.
The best walking months in Plattsburgh: May, August and September
NOAA’s 1991–2020 normals for the town and the daylight at its latitude. Outlined months have long days, highs of 59 to 86 °F and little rain for the place.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 9.2 | 10.4 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.8 | 15.6 | 15.2 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.5 | 8.8 |
| High (°F) | 27 | 30 | 40 | 54 | 68 | 76 | 81 | 79 | 71 | 58 | 45 | 34 |
| Rain (in) | 2.2 | 1.8 | 2.1 | 2.8 | 3.2 | 4.0 | 3.6 | 3.4 | 3.1 | 3.5 | 2.4 | 2.5 |
February is the driest month (1.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 81 °F). 4.0 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Plattsburgh →
Plattsburgh and its neighbors
Plattsburgh has the most mapped trails of the 2 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plattsburgh | 7% | 1.4 | 13 | 94% | A− |
| Parc | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Plattsburgh
Where can I hike in Plattsburgh?
The longest trail networks: Melissa Penfield Park, 1.1 miles; Waterfront Park, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Plattsburgh is conserved land?
7% of its land, against a typical 5% for a New York town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Plattsburgh’s trails?
Melissa Penfield Park and Waterfront Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Plattsburgh?
8.6 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.9 of painted or protected lanes, 5.9 of off-road paths and 0.7 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Plattsburgh?
11,600 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Plattsburgh or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 262 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Plattsburgh have?
Ahead of 84% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #183 of 758 in New York. The grade combines the share of land that is conserved, miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, park acres per 1,000 residents and the share of residents within a half mile of a park. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Trail talk
Conditions, parking and favorite walks from Plattsburgh neighbors.
Where this page comes from
Conserved and public land: USGS Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US), service updated July 2026. Parks, trails, playgrounds, beaches and other places: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), map data as of 2026-10-28. Land and water area: Census 2025 Gazetteer. Residents near a park: 2020 Census blocks. National Register: National Park Service. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →