Bessie's Woods
Managed by Hudson Taconic Lands
117 acres2.3 mi of trail
Greywacke Wander (yellow)Old Woods Road (red)Snowmobile TrailOrchard Loop (white)
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: Nfgusedautoparts · CC BY-SA 4.0C−Outdoors
Outdoors in Sand Lake
Sand Lake has 11 miles of mapped trails, 0.3 for every square mile of land
The biggest trail networks: Bessie's Woods (2.3 mi), Sand Lake Walking Trail (1.1 mi), Cowee State Forest (0.8 mi). 16% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 31 acres are parks and preserves, 3.7 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 22% of U.S. towns · #725 of 758 in New York. What drives it
Conserved land
1%
299 acres · of 35.0 sq mi of land
Trails
11 mi
0.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
31 ac
3.7 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
16%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
1,841 ft
The Gipfel
Lakes & rivers
11
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Sand Lake have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Sand Lake is ahead of 22% of U.S. towns, #725 of 758 in New York. Trail miles hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
C−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Sand Lake’s overall grade.
Conserved land1% of the land · typical NY town 5% · U.S. 4%CTrails0.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (11 mi) · NY 0.4 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land3.7 acres of park per 1,000 residents (31 acres) · NY 31 · U.S. 13CParks close to home16% 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 22%
LessMore
New York towns of 2,500+ (758)Ahead of 4%
NoteFew parks or trails are mapped in Sand Lake. OpenStreetMap is mapped by volunteers and coverage varies from town to town, so a town with unmapped parks scores low on them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C. 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 Bessie's Woods, with 2.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Sand Lake Walking Trail
Managed by Town of Sand Lake
34 acres1.1 mi of trail
Blue TrailRed TrailYellow TrailRed/Yellow/Blue Trail+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Cowee State Forest
Managed by New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
189 acres0.8 mi of trail
Old Eastern Turnpike
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Geiser Preserve
Managed by Hudson Taconic Lands
20 acres0.3 mi of trail
Old Eastern TurnpikeFran's Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
All 6 parks & preserves
Bessie's Woods117 acres · 2.3 mi of trail · Hudson Taconic Lands
DirectionsSand Lake Walking Trail34 acres · 1.1 mi of trail · Town of Sand Lake
DirectionsCowee State Forest189 acres · 0.8 mi of trail · New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
Geiser Preserve20 acres · 0.3 mi of trail · Hudson Taconic Lands
Stewart Preserve18 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · Nature Conservancy
Butler Park10 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
299 conserved acres
1% of Sand Lake’s land. Who manages Sand Lake’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits364 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government60 ac
Town or city13 ac
Private Forest Stewardship · 194 acPrivate Conservation · 109 acPrivate Recreation or Education · 60 acUnknown Easement · 60 acLocal Park · 13 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 11 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Conservation Fund Land Private Forest Stewardship | Land trusts & nonprofits | 194 | Closed |
| Rensselaer Land Trust Land Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 73 | Closed |
| Mud Lake Private Recreation or Education | Land trusts & nonprofits | 40 | Restricted |
| Stewart Preserve Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 36 | Open |
| Geiser Preserve Private Recreation or Education | Land trusts & nonprofits | 20 | Open |
| Town of Sand Lake Land Local Park | Town or city | 13 | Unknown |
Things to do
7 places to go in Sand Lake
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Sand Lake
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Waterfalls in Sand Lake
Wynants Kill Falls
DirectionsPeaks in Sand Lake
The Gipfel1,841 ft elevation
DirectionsBailey Mountain1,342 ft elevation
DirectionsBare Top Mountain1,316 ft elevation
DirectionsSmauder Hill823 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
12 named trails and 11 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 6.8 mi
Old Eastern Turnpike2.1 mi
Snowmobile Trail1.1 mi
Greywacke Wander (yellow)0.9 mi
Old Woods Road (red)0.6 mi
Blue Trail0.4 mi
Orchard Loop (white)0.3 mi
Red Trail0.3 mi
Yellow Trail0.2 mi
Orange Trail0.2 mi
Red/Yellow/Blue Trail0.2 mi
2 more trails
Fran's Trail
0.1 miRed/Yellow Trail
0.1 miBiking & 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
10Tennis
7Baseball
5Soccer
3Basketball
1Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →2 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 2 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
May is the best month for walking in Sand Lake
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 | 9.1 |
| High (°F) | 32 | 35 | 44 | 57 | 69 | 77 | 82 | 80 | 73 | 60 | 48 | 37 |
| Rain (in) | 2.8 | 2.3 | 2.8 | 3.3 | 3.7 | 4.4 | 4.4 | 4.3 | 4.3 | 4.0 | 3.1 | 3.4 |
February is the driest month (2.3 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 4.4 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Sand Lake →
Next door
Sand Lake and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Berlin61 miSchodack34 miPoestenkill19 miNorth Greenbush13 miEast Greenbush11 miSand Lake11 miNassau11 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sand Lake | 1% | 0.3 | 4 | 16% | C− |
| Berlin | 42% | 1.0 | 3,286 | 31% | A |
| Poestenkill | 6% | 0.6 | 35 | 27% | B |
| Nassau | 2% | 0.2 | 88 | 30% | B− |
| East Greenbush | 3% | 0.5 | 23 | 48% | B |
| Schodack | 6% | 0.5 | 97 | 32% | B+ |
| North Greenbush | 1% | 0.7 | 5 | 54% | C+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Sand Lake
Where can I hike in Sand Lake?
The longest trail networks: Bessie's Woods, 2.3 miles; Sand Lake Walking Trail, 1.1 miles; Cowee State Forest, 0.8 miles; Geiser Preserve, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Sand Lake is conserved land?
1% 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 Sand Lake’s trails?
Bessie's Woods and Sand Lake Walking Trail don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Sand Lake?
29,525 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Sand Lake or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 31 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Sand Lake have?
Ahead of 22% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #725 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 Sand Lake 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 →