Yatesville Falls State Forest
Nature preserve
704 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Photo: Mr. Matté (if there is an issue with this image, contact me using this image's Commons talk page, my Commons user talk page, or my English Wikipedia user talk page; I'll know about it a lot faster) · CC BY-SA 4.0B−Outdoors
Outdoors in Root
Root has 1,179 acres of parks, 601 for every 1,000 residents
3.1 miles of mapped trail cross Root, 0.1 per square mile of land. 28% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 4% of Root’s land is conserved, about 1,354 acres.
Ahead of 50% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
4%
1,354 acres · of 50.7 sq mi of land
Trails
3.1 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,179 ac
601 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
28%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
6.0 mi
6.0 mi paths
Highest peak
1,125 ft
Corbin Hill
Lakes & rivers
2
What kind of outdoors town is Root?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Root have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Root is ahead of 50% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
B−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Root’s overall grade.
Conserved land4% of the land · typical NY town 5% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (3 mi) · NY 0.4 · U.S. 0.4C−Park land601 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,179 acres) · NY 31 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home28% 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 50%
LessMore
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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Rural Grove State Forest
Nature preserve
367 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Who protects it
1,354 conserved acres
4% of Root’s land. Who manages Root’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State conservation1,078 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)180 ac
Other state land95 ac
State Conservation Area · 1,078 acConservation Easement · 180 acState Recreation Area · 95 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 181 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yatesville Falls State Forest State Conservation Area | State conservation | 708 | Open |
| Rural Grove State Forest State Conservation Area | State conservation | 370 | Open |
| Erie Canal State Recreation Area | Other state land | 95 | Open |
Things to do
3 places to go in Root
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Root
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Peaks in Root
Corbin Hill1,125 ft elevation
DirectionsWessel Hill1,083 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
2 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
6.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
6.0 mi
off-road bike paths
When to get out
The best walking months in Root: May, July 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) | 9.4 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.6 | 15.3 | 15.0 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 31 | 34 | 43 | 56 | 69 | 77 | 82 | 80 | 73 | 60 | 47 | 36 |
| Rain (in) | 2.7 | 2.3 | 3.0 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 4.2 | 4.0 | 4.1 | 3.5 | 3.9 | 3.0 | 3.1 |
February is the driest month (2.3 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 4.2 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Root →
Next door
Root and its neighbors
Root has the second most mapped trails of the 7 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Root | 4% | 0.1 | 601 | 28% | B− |
| Mohawk | 1% | 0.1 | 66 | 49% | C+ |
| Canajoharie | 1% | under 0.1 | 46 | 59% | C+ |
| Palatine | 1% | 0.1 | 60 | 52% | C+ |
| Charleston | 23% | 0.9 | 3,981 | 45% | A |
| Glen | 2% | under 0.1 | 115 | 38% | C+ |
| Sharon | 3% | under 0.1 | 288 | 35% | B− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Root
How much of Root is conserved land?
4% 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 Root’s trails?
Yatesville Falls State Forest and Rural Grove State Forest don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Root?
6.0 miles of bike routes are on the map: 6.0 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Root?
16,943 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Root or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,179 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Root have?
Ahead of 50% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade. 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 Root 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 →