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Beaverkill Covered BridgeBeaverkill Covered Bridge · Photo: Daniel Case · CC BY-SA 3.0
A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Rockland

Rockland has 9,912 acres of parks, 2,997 for every 1,000 residents

25% of Rockland’s land is conserved, about 14,848 acres. The biggest trail networks: Willowemoc Wild Forest (26.9 mi), Beech Mountain Nature Preserve (2.8 mi). 45% of residents live within a half mile of a park.

Ahead of 85% of U.S. towns · #180 of 758 in New York. What drives it

Conserved land
25%
14,848 acres · of 94.2 sq mi of land
Trails
42 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
9,912 ac
2,997 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
45%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.1 mi
0.1 mi paths
Highest peak
3,117 ft
Beech Mountain
Lakes & rivers
23
1 beach

What kind of outdoors town is Rockland?

Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.

Room to roam2,997 acres of park per 1,000 residents; the typical U.S. town has 13.Land that stays wild25% of the land is conserved; a typical New York town, 5%.History along the way4 places on the National Register.
Outdoors grade

How much outdoors does Rockland have?

On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Rockland is ahead of 85% of U.S. towns, #180 of 758 in New York. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.

A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Rockland’s overall grade.
Conserved land25% of the land · typical NY town 5% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (42 mi) · NY 0.4 · U.S. 0.4BPark land2,997 acres of park per 1,000 residents (9,912 acres) · NY 31 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home45% 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 85%
LessMore
New York towns of 2,500+ (758)Ahead of 76%
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.

1234
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 Willowemoc Wild Forest, with 26.9 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.

Willowemoc Wild Forest

Managed by New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
8,337 acres26.9 mi of trail
Quick Lake TrailBig Rock TrailAzalea TrailFlynn Trail+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trailheadWebsite ↗

Beech Mountain Nature Preserve

Managed by Beaverkill Valley Land Trust
277 acres2.8 mi of trail
Flynn Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet

DeBruce Environmental Education Camp

Nature preserve
384 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗

Delaware Wild Forest

Nature preserve
351 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
All 8 parks & preserves
Willowemoc Wild Forest8,337 acres · 26.9 mi of trail · New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
Directions
Beech Mountain Nature Preserve277 acres · 2.8 mi of trail · Beaverkill Valley Land Trust
DeBruce Environmental Education Camp384 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
Directions
Delaware Wild Forest351 acres
Big Indian Wilderness11 acres · New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
Willowemoc Creek Waterway Access9 acres
Colchester Forest Preserve Detached Parcel5 acres · New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
Livingston Manor Covered Bridge Park2 acres
Directions
Who protects it

14,848 conserved acres

25% of Rockland’s land. Who manages Rockland’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.

State conservation10,335 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits4,991 ac
Town or city217 ac
Regional Water Districts78 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government75 ac
County1 ac
State Recreation Area · 7,866 acOther Easement · 3,818 acState Conservation Area · 2,172 acPrivate Conservation · 915 acForest Stewardship Easement · 288 ac
Good to know

Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 3,617 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 34 of 106 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.

The biggest protected parcels
Parcel (PAD-US)Managed byAcresPublic access
Willowemoc Wild Forest
State Conservation Area
State conservation8,351Open
Beaverkill Arcadia
Private Conservation
Land trusts & nonprofits913Closed
Mongaup Pond Campground
State Recreation Area
State conservation678Open
Debruce Environmental Education Camp
State Conservation Area
State conservation371Restricted
Delaware Wild Forest
State Conservation Area
State conservation354Open
Beaverkill Campground
State Recreation Area
State conservation266Open
Village of Liberty Land
Local Park
Town or city208Unknown
Roscoe-Rockland Water District Land
Local Other or Unknown
Regional Water Districts78Unknown
Willowemoc Creek Waterway Access
State Recreation Area
State conservation11Open
Town Of Rockland Land
Local Park
Town or city9Unknown

5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.

Things to do

23 places to go in Rockland

Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.

Peaks in Rockland
Beech Mountain3,117 ft elevation · In Beech Mountain Nature Preserve
Directions
Hodge Pond Hill2,982 ft elevation · In Willowemoc Wild Forest
Directions
Rattle Hill2,585 ft elevation · In Willowemoc Wild Forest
Directions
Bald Mountain2,306 ft elevation
Directions
Burnt Hill2,297 ft elevation
Directions
Gray Hill2,169 ft elevation
Directions
Round Top1,827 ft elevation
Directions

Plus 11 peaks without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.

Trails & water

11 named trails and 23 lakes & rivers

Named trails
Open to bikes · 18.9 miHorses · 11.0 miUnpaved · 9.3 mi
Quick Lake Trail7.1 mi
Big Rock Trail3.7 mi
Flynn Trail3.2 mi
Azalea Trail2.8 mi
Loggers Loop1.7 mi
Karsk Trail1.5 mi
Mongaup - Willowemoc Trail (Yellow)1.5 mi
Snowmobile Trail1.3 mi
Jeep Trail0.4 mi
Mongaup - Hardenburgh Trail0.3 mi
1 more trails
Mongaup-Hardenburgh Trail
0.3 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Amber LakelakeClear LakeEdgewood LakeForest LakeFrick PondHodge PondHunter PondKnickerbocker PondLake AlexanderLake UncasMaple LakeMongaup PondMud PondNorth PondOrchard LakeParadise LakeQuick LakepondThe PunchbowlTrojan LakeWaneta LakelakeWhite Roe LakeBeaver KillWillowemoc Creek
Biking & sports

0.1 miles of bike routes

Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.

0.1 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
7Baseball
5Tennis
3Basketball
2Multi-sport
2Football
1Soccer

Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.

History along the way

4 places on the National Register

The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 3 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.

History →
Rockland Mill ComplexDistrict · listed 1984
About it
Aqudas Achim SynagogueBuilding · listed 1998
About it
Roscoe Presbyterian Church and Westfield Flats CemeteryBuilding · listed 2001
About it
Beaverkill Covered BridgeStructure · listed 2007
About it
When to get out

The best walking months in Rockland: May and July

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.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)9.410.511.813.314.515.214.913.912.411.09.79.1
High (°F)303240536572777569574534
Rain (in)3.83.03.74.24.45.54.95.15.15.04.04.4

February is the driest month (3.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 77 °F). 5.5 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Rockland →

Next door

Rockland and its neighbors

Tap a town to see its outdoors.

Colchester78 miDenning69 miHardenburgh44 miRockland42 miNeversink29 miLiberty14 miCallicoon5.5 miFremont4.9 mi
TownConserved
of land		Trail mi
per sq mi		Park acres
per 1,000		Near a park
½ mile		Outdoors
Rockland25%0.42,99745%A−
Liberty5%0.213253%B
Colchester37%0.613,07957%A
Fremont2%0.142712%C+
Neversink30%0.32,18030%A−
Hardenburgh— not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town
Callicoon3%0.17122%C+
Denning— 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 Rockland

Where can I hike in Rockland?

The longest trail networks: Willowemoc Wild Forest, 26.9 miles; Beech Mountain Nature Preserve, 2.8 miles; DeBruce Environmental Education Camp, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.

How much of Rockland is conserved land?

25% 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 Rockland’s trails?

Willowemoc Wild Forest and Beech Mountain Nature Preserve don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.

Where can I bike in Rockland?

0.1 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.1 of off-road paths.

Is there public land near Rockland?

104,002 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Rockland or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 9,923 of them inside the town line.

How much outdoors does Rockland have?

Ahead of 85% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #180 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 Rockland neighbors.

Town Square →
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 →