Schodack Island State Park
Managed by New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation
892 acres8.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: User:Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 4.0B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Schodack
Schodack has 1,253 acres of parks, 97 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Schodack Island State Park (8.4 mi), Schodack Town Park (3.5 mi), Palmer Road Preserve (1 mi). 34 miles of mapped trail cross Schodack, 0.5 per square mile of land. 6% of Schodack’s land is conserved, about 2,254 acres.
Ahead of 67% of U.S. towns · #372 of 758 in New York. What drives it
Conserved land
6%
2,254 acres · of 61.9 sq mi of land
Trails
34 mi
0.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,253 ac
97 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
32%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
7.1 mi
7.1 mi paths
Highest peak
259 ft
Vandenburgh Hill
Lakes & rivers
6
2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Schodack?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Schodack have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Schodack is ahead of 67% of U.S. towns, #372 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 Schodack’s overall grade.
Conserved land6% of the land · typical NY town 5% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (34 mi) · NY 0.4 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land97 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,253 acres) · NY 31 · U.S. 13AParks close to home32% 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 67%
LessMore
New York towns of 2,500+ (758)Ahead of 51%
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 Schodack Island State Park, with 8.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Schodack Town Park
Park
83 acres3.5 mi of trail
White trailRed trailPurple trailYellow trail+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Palmer Road Preserve
Managed by Rensselaer Land Trust
58 acres1 mi of trail
Perimeter trail (yellow)Entrance trail (white)Shortcut trail (orange)
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Schermerhorn Park
Managed by Village of Castleton
45 acres0.8 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
2,254 conserved acres
6% of Schodack’s land. Who manages Schodack’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits2,217 ac
State parks963 ac
Town or city287 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)145 ac
County25 ac
Regional Water Districts5 ac
Agricultural Easement · 2,034 acState Park · 963 acLocal Park · 287 acConservation Easement · 249 acOther Easement · 74 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1,013 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 6 of 27 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Schodack Island State Park State Park | State parks | 963 | Open |
| Castleton Village Of Land Local Park | Town or city | 129 | Unknown |
| Town of Schodack Land Local Park | Town or city | 106 | Unknown |
| Schermerhorn Park Local Park | Town or city | 44 | Open |
| Papscanee Island County Nature Preserve Local Recreation Area | County | 25 | Open |
| Village of Castleton Land Local Park | Town or city | 7 | Unknown |
| Castleton Little League Lands Private Other or Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 5 | Closed |
| Clearview Hts Water Works Inc Land Local Other or Unknown | Regional Water Districts | 5 | Unknown |
| Green Hill Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
Things to do
15 places to go in Schodack
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Schodack
Schodack Island State Park PlaygroundIn Schodack Island State Park
DirectionsPlus 5 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Schodack
2 boat launches without a name on the map.
Waterfalls in Schodack
4 waterfalls without a name on the map.
Peaks in Schodack
Vandenburgh Hill259 ft elevation
DirectionsPicnic areas in Schodack
1 picnic area without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Campgrounds in Schodack
Schodack Island State Park CampgroundIn Schodack Island State Park · New York State Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation
DirectionsTrails & water
10 named trails and 6 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 15.7 mi
Perimeter trail (yellow)0.8 mi
Red trail0.7 mi
White trail0.7 mi
Blue trail0.6 mi
Maple Hill Foot Path0.5 mi
Purple trail0.5 mi
Yellow trail0.5 mi
Red/Purple trail0.2 mi
Entrance trail (white)0.2 mi
Red/ Purple trail0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
7.1 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
7.1 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
9Tennis
8Basketball
6Baseball
4Soccer
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →6 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Muitzes Kill Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1974
About itSchodack Landing Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1977
About itJoachim Staats House and Gerrit Staats RuinDistrict · listed 1978
About itDistrict School No. 3Building · listed 1998
About itBlink BonnieBuilding · listed 2000
About itElmbrook FarmBuilding · listed 2001
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Schodack: April and May
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) | 33 | 36 | 45 | 59 | 71 | 79 | 83 | 81 | 74 | 62 | 49 | 39 |
| Rain (in) | 2.7 | 2.3 | 2.9 | 3.4 | 3.7 | 4.3 | 4.2 | 4.3 | 4.2 | 4.1 | 3.0 | 3.3 |
February is the driest month (2.3 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 4.3 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Schodack →
Next door
Schodack and its neighbors
Schodack has the second most mapped trails of the 8 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Bethlehem48 miSchodack34 miCoeymans34 miEast Greenbush11 miSand Lake11 miNassau11 miStuyvesant1.9 miNassau0.0 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Schodack | 6% | 0.5 | 97 | 32% | B+ |
| Nassau | 2% | 0.2 | 88 | 30% | B− |
| Nassau | 1% | under 0.1 | 3 | 95% | C− |
| East Greenbush | 3% | 0.5 | 23 | 48% | B |
| Coeymans | 17% | 0.7 | 111 | 65% | A |
| Bethlehem | 4% | 1.0 | 31 | 66% | B+ |
| Sand Lake | 1% | 0.3 | 4 | 16% | C− |
| Stuyvesant | 38% | 0.1 | 456 | 43% | B+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Schodack
Where can I hike in Schodack?
The longest trail networks: Schodack Island State Park, 8.4 miles; Schodack Town Park, 3.5 miles; Palmer Road Preserve, 1 miles; Schermerhorn Park, 0.8 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Schodack is conserved land?
6% 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 Schodack’s trails?
Schodack Island State Park and Schodack Town Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Schodack?
7.1 miles of bike routes are on the map: 7.1 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Schodack?
19,635 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Schodack or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,253 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Schodack have?
Ahead of 67% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #372 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 Schodack 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 →