Ferris Lake Wild Forest
Managed by New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
27,584 acres23.9 mi of trail
Cranberry - Mud LakeJerseyfield Railbed Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Salisbury Center Covered Bridge · Photo: Doug Kerr from Albany, New York, United States · CC BY-SA 2.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Salisbury
Salisbury has 31,663 acres of parks, 16,380 for every 1,000 residents
46% of Salisbury’s land is conserved, about 31,534 acres. The biggest trail networks: Ferris Lake Wild Forest (23.9 mi). 38% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 82% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
46%
31,534 acres · of 107.4 sq mi of land
Trails
34 mi
0.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
31,663 ac
16,380 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
38%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
2,287 ft
Jerseyfield Mountain
Lakes & rivers
9
What kind of outdoors town is Salisbury?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Salisbury have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Salisbury is ahead of 82% of U.S. towns. 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 Salisbury’s overall grade.
Conserved land46% of the land · typical NY town 5% · U.S. 4%A+Trails0.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (34 mi) · NY 0.4 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land16,380 acres of park per 1,000 residents (31,663 acres) · NY 31 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home38% 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 82%
LessMore
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 Ferris Lake Wild Forest, with 23.9 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Herkimer Forest Preserve Detached Parcel
Managed by New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
454 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Who protects it
31,534 conserved acres
46% of Salisbury’s land. Who manages Salisbury’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State conservation28,203 ac
Town or city3,278 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)53 ac
State Conservation Area · 28,203 acLocal Park · 3,278 acConservation Easement · 53 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 53 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 3 of 6 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ferris Lake Wild Forest State Conservation Area | State conservation | 27,743 | Open |
| City Of Little Falls Land Local Park | Town or city | 3,273 | Unknown |
| Herkimer Fp Detached Parcel State Conservation Area | State conservation | 460 | Open |
| Town Of Salisbury Land Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Unknown |
| Town, Of Salisbury Land Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Unknown |
Things to do
6 places to go in Salisbury
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Peaks in Salisbury
Jerseyfield Mountain2,287 ft elevation · In Ferris Lake Wild Forest
DirectionsOak Mountain1,969 ft elevation
DirectionsHedgehog Mountain1,762 ft elevation
DirectionsPoplar Knoll1,608 ft elevation
DirectionsDiamond Hill1,424 ft elevation
DirectionsThe Pinnacle1,332 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
3 named trails and 9 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 22.9 mi
Cranberry - Mud Lake4.9 mi
Jerseyfield Railbed Trail2.8 mi
Little Falls and Dolgeville Railroad1.4 mi
Biking & sports
0.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Courts & fields
1Tennis
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →3 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
When to get out
The best walking months in Salisbury: May, June, August 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) | 9.3 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.7 | 15.4 | 15.1 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 27 | 30 | 38 | 52 | 65 | 73 | 77 | 76 | 69 | 56 | 43 | 32 |
| Rain (in) | 4.0 | 3.3 | 3.6 | 4.2 | 4.9 | 5.1 | 5.2 | 4.8 | 4.6 | 5.1 | 4.1 | 4.4 |
February is the driest month (3.3 in) and July the warmest (highs of 77 °F). 5.2 inches fall in July, the wettest month. The climate in Salisbury →
Next door
Salisbury and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Ohio79 miStratford47 miSalisbury34 miMorehouse29 miOppenheim13 miManheim4.7 miNorway1.6 miFairfield1.3 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salisbury | 46% | 0.3 | 16,380 | 38% | A− |
| Stratford | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Oppenheim | 9% | 0.2 | 1,225 | 28% | B+ |
| Norway | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Fairfield | 8% | under 0.1 | 1,029 | 33% | B |
| Manheim | under 1% | 0.2 | 4 | 67% | C− |
| Morehouse | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Ohio | — 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 Salisbury
Where can I hike in Salisbury?
The longest trail networks: Ferris Lake Wild Forest, 23.9 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Salisbury is conserved land?
46% 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 Salisbury’s trails?
Ferris Lake Wild Forest and Herkimer Forest Preserve Detached Parcel don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Salisbury?
213,314 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Salisbury or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 31,663 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Salisbury have?
Ahead of 82% 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 Salisbury 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 →