Clarkson Woods
Nature preserve
377 acres7.6 mi of trail
Clarkson University trail - secondaryClarkson University trail - primary
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Jonathan Wallace House · Photo: Mwanner · CC BY-SA 3.0BOutdoors
Outdoors in Potsdam
Potsdam has 734 acres of parks, 50 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Clarkson Woods (7.6 mi), Lehman Park (1 mi). 18 miles of mapped trail cross Potsdam, 0.2 per square mile of land. 2% of Potsdam’s land is conserved, about 1,507 acres.
Ahead of 56% of U.S. towns · #506 of 758 in New York. What drives it
Conserved land
2%
1,507 acres · of 101.4 sq mi of land
Trails
18 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
734 ac
50 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
67%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.7 mi
0.7 mi lanes
Lakes & rivers
3
2 beaches · 1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Potsdam?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Potsdam have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Potsdam is ahead of 56% of U.S. towns, #506 of 758 in New York. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Potsdam’s overall grade.
Conserved land2% of the land · typical NY town 5% · U.S. 4%C+Trails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (18 mi) · NY 0.4 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land50 acres of park per 1,000 residents (734 acres) · NY 31 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home67% of residents within a half mile of a park · NY 70% · U.S. 72%B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 56%
LessMore
New York towns of 2,500+ (758)Ahead of 33%
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 Clarkson Woods, with 7.6 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Crary Mills State Forest
Nature preserve
564 acres0.1 mi of trail
Logging trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
All 11 parks & preserves
Clarkson Woods377 acres · 7.6 mi of trail
DirectionsLehman Park43 acres · 1 mi of trail
DirectionsIves Park5 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsCrary Mills State Forest564 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Marshall Park4 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsA. George Davis Park3 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsRiverside Park2 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsBayside Cemetery32 acres
Anderson Park3 acres
DirectionsCrary Mills Playground2 acres
Clarkson 9/11 Memorial Park1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
1,507 conserved acres
2% of Potsdam’s land. Who manages Potsdam’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
USDA easements (NRCS)849 ac
State conservation572 ac
Town or city102 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government3 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits1 ac
Conservation Easement · 849 acState Conservation Area · 572 acLocal Park · 103 acLocal Resource Management Area · 2 acPrivate Other or Unknown · 1 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 849 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 4 of 30 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crary Mills State Forest State Conservation Area | State conservation | 572 | Open |
| Village Of Potsdam Land Local Park | Town or city | 51 | Unknown |
| Village Of Norwood Land Local Park | Town or city | 25 | Unknown |
| Sandstoner Park Local Park | Town or city | 16 | Open |
| Town of Potsdam Land Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Unknown |
| Ives Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Potsdam Village Lands Local Resource Management Area | Other or Unknown Local Government | 2 | Open |
| Crary Mills Playground Lands Private Other or Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 1 | Closed |
| Unknown Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
| Crary Mills Lands Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 1 | Open |
Things to do
16 places to go in Potsdam
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Potsdam
2 beaches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Playgrounds in Potsdam
3 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Boat launches in Potsdam
1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Picnic areas in Potsdam
10 picnic areas without a name on the map.
Trails & water
3 named trails and 3 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 7.5 miUnpaved · 8.5 mi
Clarkson University trail - secondary6.0 mi
Clarkson University trail - primary1.5 mi
Logging trail0.1 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
painted or protected bike lanes
Courts & fields
10Baseball
5Tennis
4Soccer
2Basketball
2Football
1Softball
1Volleyball
1Beach volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →15 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 2 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Market Street Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1979
About itFrench Family FarmBuilding · listed 1982
About itUS Post Office-PotsdamBuilding · listed 1989
About itClarkson-Knowles CottageBuilding · listed 1995
About itFirst Presbyterian Church of Dailey RidgeBuilding · listed 2002
About itTrinity Episcopal ChurchBuilding · listed 2003
About itJonathan Wallace HouseBuilding · listed 2003
About itNathaniel Parmeter HouseBuilding · listed 2003
About itClarkson Office BuildingBuilding · listed 2004
About itBayside Cemetery and Gatehouse ComplexSite · listed 2004
About itBenjamin Gordon Baldwin HouseBuilding · listed 2004
About itBuck's Bridge United Methodist ChurchBuilding · listed 2004
About it3 more on the History page.
When to get out
The best walking months in Potsdam: May and August
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 | 15.5 | 15.2 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.5 | 8.8 |
| High (°F) | 26 | 29 | 39 | 54 | 67 | 76 | 80 | 79 | 71 | 58 | 45 | 33 |
| Rain (in) | 2.5 | 2.0 | 2.4 | 3.1 | 3.2 | 3.8 | 3.9 | 3.4 | 3.9 | 4.2 | 3.0 | 2.7 |
February is the driest month (2.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 80 °F). 4.2 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Potsdam →
Next door
Potsdam and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Parishville36 miStockholm29 miCanton24 miPotsdam18 miPierrepont11 miMadrid8.2 miNorfolk8.2 miHannawa Falls1.8 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Potsdam | 2% | 0.2 | 50 | 67% | B |
| Madrid | 7% | 0.2 | 854 | 37% | B |
| Norfolk | 7% | 0.1 | 551 | 45% | B |
| Stockholm | 10% | 0.3 | 1,206 | 24% | B+ |
| Canton | 14% | 0.2 | 5 | 53% | B− |
| Pierrepont | 10% | 0.2 | 1,299 | 43% | B+ |
| Parishville | 33% | 0.4 | 7,905 | 50% | A |
| Hannawa Falls | — 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 Potsdam
Where can I hike in Potsdam?
The longest trail networks: Clarkson Woods, 7.6 miles; Lehman Park, 1 miles; Ives Park, 0.3 miles; Crary Mills State Forest, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Potsdam is conserved land?
2% 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 Potsdam’s trails?
Clarkson Woods and Lehman Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Potsdam?
0.7 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.7 of painted or protected lanes.
Is there public land near Potsdam?
41,434 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Potsdam or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 734 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Potsdam have?
Ahead of 56% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #506 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 Potsdam 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 →