Taconic Hereford Multiple Use Area
Nature preserve
759 acres20.1 mi of trail
Blue Trailblueorange (snowmobile)yellow (woods road)+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto Taconic Hereford ParkingWebsite ↗
Photo: Daniel Case · CC BY-SA 3.0C+Outdoors
Outdoors in Pleasant Valley
Pleasant Valley has 25 miles of mapped trails, 0.8 for every square mile of land
The biggest trail networks: Taconic Hereford Multiple Use Area (20.1 mi). 22% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 53 acres are parks and preserves, 5.4 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 43% of U.S. towns · #600 of 758 in New York. What drives it
Conserved land
5%
984 acres · of 32.6 sq mi of land
Trails
25 mi
0.8 per sq mi of land
Park land
53 ac
5.4 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
22%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.7 mi
0.7 mi paths
Highest peak
551 ft
Dennis Hill
Lakes & rivers
2
What kind of outdoors town is Pleasant Valley?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Pleasant Valley have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Pleasant Valley is ahead of 43% of U.S. towns, #600 of 758 in New York. Trail miles hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
C+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Pleasant Valley’s overall grade.
Conserved land5% of the land · typical NY town 5% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.8 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (25 mi) · NY 0.4 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land5.4 acres of park per 1,000 residents (53 acres) · NY 31 · U.S. 13CParks close to home22% of residents within a half mile of a park · NY 70% · U.S. 72%C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 43%
LessMore
New York towns of 2,500+ (758)Ahead of 21%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B. Trails and many small parks come from OpenStreetMap, mapped by volunteers, so coverage varies from town to town; the half mile is a straight line from each census block, so a river or highway in the way isn’t counted against it.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
The map
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Easements protect land from building but are usually private.© OpenStreetMap contributors · USGS PAD-US
Places to walk
Pick a walk
The longest trail network is Taconic Hereford Multiple Use Area, with 20.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
984 conserved acres
5% of Pleasant Valley’s land. Who manages Pleasant Valley’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State conservation763 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits337 ac
Town or city41 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government13 ac
County3 ac
State Resource Management Area · 763 acAgricultural Easement · 169 acConservation Easement · 168 acLocal Park · 57 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 170 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 3 of 8 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Taconic Hereford Multiple Use Area State Resource Management Area | State conservation | 763 | Open |
| Town Of Pleasant Valley Land Local Park | Town or city | 40 | Unknown |
| Helen Aldrich Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 13 | Open |
| Dutchess County Water and Land Local Park | County | 3 | Unknown |
| Mill Site And Memorial Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
14 places to go in Pleasant Valley
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Pleasant Valley
12 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Peaks in Pleasant Valley
Dennis Hill551 ft elevation
DirectionsBarnes Hill541 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
8 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 2.3 mi
Blue Trail2.1 mi
blue1.3 mi
Treecherons1.0 mi
orange (snowmobile)0.9 mi
yellow (woods road)0.7 mi
Red Trail0.6 mi
orange0.6 mi
Yellow Trail0.5 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.7 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.7 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
8Baseball
6Soccer
4Basketball
3Tennis
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →6 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Newcomb-Brown EstateBuilding · listed 1988
About itBloomvale Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1991
About itB'nai Israel SynagogueBuilding · listed 1999
About itQuaker Lane FarmsBuilding · listed 2003
About itPelham Parkway Station (Dual System IRT)Structure · listed 2005
About itInnisfreeDistrict · listed 2019
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Pleasant Valley: April and May
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) | 9.5 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.5 | 15.2 | 14.9 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.2 |
| High (°F) | 36 | 39 | 48 | 61 | 72 | 80 | 85 | 83 | 75 | 63 | 51 | 40 |
| Rain (in) | 3.0 | 2.5 | 3.3 | 3.4 | 3.6 | 4.3 | 4.2 | 4.3 | 4.2 | 4.4 | 3.3 | 3.6 |
February is the driest month (2.5 in) and July the warmest (highs of 85 °F). 4.4 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Pleasant Valley →
Next door
Pleasant Valley and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Poughkeepsie38 miHyde Park37 miLaGrange36 miPleasant Valley25 miWashington1.1 miClinton0.6 miSalt Point0.0 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pleasant Valley | 5% | 0.8 | 5 | 22% | C+ |
| LaGrange | 5% | 0.9 | 95 | 46% | B+ |
| Clinton | 2% | under 0.1 | 19 | 17% | C |
| Poughkeepsie | 10% | 1.3 | 30 | 91% | A |
| Washington | 1% | under 0.1 | 35 | 27% | C |
| Salt Point | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Hyde Park | 13% | 1.0 | 88 | 59% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Pleasant Valley
Where can I hike in Pleasant Valley?
The longest trail networks: Taconic Hereford Multiple Use Area, 20.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Pleasant Valley is conserved land?
5% 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 Pleasant Valley’s trails?
Taconic Hereford Multiple Use Area and Salt Point Recreation Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Pleasant Valley?
0.7 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.7 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Pleasant Valley?
15,922 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Pleasant Valley or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 822 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Pleasant Valley have?
Ahead of 43% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #600 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 Pleasant Valley neighbors.
Share a tip
Sources
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 →