Clarkson Woods
Nature preserve
321 acres7.3 mi of trail
Clarkson University trail - secondaryClarkson University trail - primary
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Potsdam
Potsdam has 9.9 miles of mapped trails, 2.0 for every square mile of land
94% of residents live within a half mile of a park. The biggest trail networks: Clarkson Woods (7.3 mi), Lehman Park (1 mi). 2% of Potsdam’s land is conserved, about 54 acres.
Ahead of 76% of U.S. towns · #282 of 758 in New York. What drives it
Conserved land
2%
54 acres · of 4.9 sq mi of land
Trails
9.9 mi
2.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
119 ac
14 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
94%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.7 mi
0.7 mi lanes
Lakes & rivers
2
2 beaches
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 76% of U.S. towns, #282 of 758 in New York. Trail miles hold the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Potsdam’s overall grade.
Conserved land2% of the land · typical NY town 5% · U.S. 4%C+Trails2.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (10 mi) · NY 0.4 · U.S. 0.4APark land14 acres of park per 1,000 residents (119 acres) · NY 31 · U.S. 13BParks close to home94% of residents within a half mile of a park · NY 70% · U.S. 72%A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 76%
LessMore
New York towns of 2,500+ (758)Ahead of 63%
Water is 9% of Potsdam’s area (0 of 5 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 2%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A. 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 7.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Bayside Cemetery
Park
32 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 9 parks & preserves
Clarkson Woods321 acres · 7.3 mi of trail
DirectionsLehman Park43 acres · 1 mi of trail
DirectionsIves Park6 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsRiverside Park2 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsMarshall Park3 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsBayside Cemetery32 acres
A. George Davis Park3 acres
DirectionsAnderson Park3 acres
DirectionsClarkson 9/11 Memorial Park1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
54 conserved acres
2% of Potsdam’s land. Water is left out: Potsdam has 4.9 square miles of land and 0.5 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Potsdam’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city72 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government2 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)1 ac
Local Park · 72 acLocal Resource Management Area · 2 acConservation Easement · 1 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1 acre is a conservation easement, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 2 of 8 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Village Of Potsdam Land Local Park | Town or city | 51 | Unknown |
| Sandstoner Park Local Park | Town or city | 16 | Open |
| Ives Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Potsdam Village Lands Local Resource Management Area | Other or Unknown Local Government | 2 | Open |
| Garner Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
| Unknown Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
15 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.
Picnic areas in Potsdam
10 picnic areas without a name on the map.
Trails & water
2 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 7.1 miUnpaved · 7.2 mi
Clarkson University trail - secondary5.7 mi
Clarkson University trail - primary1.4 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
7Baseball
5Tennis
4Soccer
2Football
1Softball
1Volleyball
1Beach volleyball
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
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 | 3.2 | 3.2 | 3.9 | 3.9 | 3.5 | 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 →
Questions about parks and trails in Potsdam
Where can I hike in Potsdam?
The longest trail networks: Clarkson Woods, 7.3 miles; Lehman Park, 1 miles; Ives Park, 0.3 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?
14,274 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Potsdam or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 119 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Potsdam have?
Ahead of 76% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #282 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 →