Felts Mills Day Use Area
Park
282 acres5.7 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto Felts Mills Day UseWebsite ↗
BOutdoors
Outdoors in Rutland
Rutland has 580 acres of parks, 193 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Felts Mills Day Use Area (5.7 mi), Pinckney State Forest (2.4 mi). 48% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 2% of Rutland’s land is conserved, about 664 acres.
Ahead of 60% of U.S. towns · #445 of 758 in New York. What drives it
Conserved land
2%
664 acres · of 45.2 sq mi of land
Trails
15 mi
0.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
580 ac
193 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
48%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
1,142 ft
Underwood Hill
Lakes & rivers
2
2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Rutland?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Rutland have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Rutland is ahead of 60% of U.S. towns, #445 of 758 in New York. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Rutland’s overall grade.
Conserved land2% of the land · typical NY town 5% · U.S. 4%C+Trails0.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (15 mi) · NY 0.4 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land193 acres of park per 1,000 residents (580 acres) · NY 31 · U.S. 13AParks close to home48% 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 60%
LessMore
New York towns of 2,500+ (758)Ahead of 41%
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 Felts Mills Day Use Area, with 5.7 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Pinckney State Forest
Nature preserve
220 acres2.4 mi of trail
Pinckney Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Who protects it
664 conserved acres
2% of Rutland’s land. Who manages Rutland’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County288 ac
State conservation223 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)65 ac
Town or city64 ac
State parks23 ac
Local Conservation Area · 288 acState Conservation Area · 223 acConservation Easement · 65 acLocal Park · 64 acState Recreation Area · 23 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 65 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 2 of 7 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jefferson County Lands Local Conservation Area | County | 288 | Restricted |
| Pinckney State Forest State Conservation Area | State conservation | 223 | Open |
| Watertown City of Land Local Park | Town or city | 38 | Unknown |
| Black River Village of Land Local Park | Town or city | 25 | Unknown |
| Black River Trail State Recreation Area | State parks | 23 | Open |
Things to do
5 places to go in Rutland
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Boat launches in Rutland
Canoe Launch
DirectionsCanoe Launch
DirectionsPeaks in Rutland
Underwood Hill1,142 ft elevation
DirectionsOrvis Hill981 ft elevation
DirectionsPicnic areas in Rutland
1 picnic area without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
2 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 13.9 miUnpaved · 14.2 mi
Pinckney Trail2.2 mi
Kamargo Trail1.2 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
When to get out
The best walking months in Rutland: May to 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) | 9.2 | 10.4 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.7 | 15.5 | 15.2 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 8.9 |
| High (°F) | 27 | 29 | 38 | 52 | 66 | 74 | 78 | 77 | 70 | 56 | 44 | 32 |
| Rain (in) | 3.8 | 2.9 | 3.1 | 3.7 | 3.8 | 4.0 | 3.8 | 4.0 | 4.1 | 5.1 | 4.3 | 4.1 |
February is the driest month (2.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 78 °F). 5.1 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Rutland →
Next door
Rutland and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Le Ray28 miRodman19 miRutland15 miPinckney7.2 miChampion4.3 miWatertown3.5 miDenmark2.3 miBlack River1.2 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rutland | 2% | 0.3 | 193 | 48% | B |
| Le Ray | under 1% | 0.4 | 8 | 36% | C |
| Black River | 3% | 0.7 | 12 | 90% | B+ |
| Champion | 3% | 0.1 | 12 | 48% | C+ |
| Watertown | 1% | 0.1 | 19 | 20% | C |
| Pinckney | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Denmark | under 1% | under 0.1 | 31 | 34% | C |
| Rodman | 19% | 0.4 | 3,297 | 29% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Rutland
Where can I hike in Rutland?
The longest trail networks: Felts Mills Day Use Area, 5.7 miles; Pinckney State Forest, 2.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Rutland 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 Rutland’s trails?
Felts Mills Day Use Area and Pinckney State Forest don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Rutland?
40,319 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Rutland or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 580 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Rutland have?
Ahead of 60% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #445 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 Rutland 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 →