Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Ulster House Hotel · Photo: Daniel Case · CC BY-SA 3.070% of Shandaken’s land is conserved, about 53,283 acres. 9,901 acres are parks and preserves, 3,550 per 1,000 residents. 118 miles of mapped trail cross Shandaken, 1.0 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 97% of U.S. towns · #48 of 758 in New York. What drives it
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Shandaken is ahead of 97% of U.S. towns, #48 of 758 in New York. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; conserved land ranks highest, the share of residents near a park lowest.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
The longest trail network is Slide Mountain Wilderness, with 47.9 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
70% of Shandaken’s land. Who manages Shandaken’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1,066 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 38 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Slide Mountain Wilderness State Wilderness | State conservation | 32,668 | Open |
| Big Indian Wilderness State Wilderness | State conservation | 7,116 | Open |
| Shandaken Wild Forest State Conservation Area | State conservation | 4,773 | Open |
| Phoenicia - Mt. Tobias Wild Forest State Conservation Area | State conservation | 2,462 | Open |
| Belleayre Mountain Ski Center State Recreation Area | State conservation | 2,271 | Open |
| Hunter-West Kill Wilderness State Wilderness | State conservation | 1,762 | Open |
| Unclassified State Conservation Area | State conservation | 451 | Open |
| Catskill Mountains State Conservation Area | State conservation | 437 | Restricted |
| New York City Watershed Watershed Protection Area | Town or city | 277 | Closed |
| New York City Dept. of Environmental Protection 1 Watershed Protection Area | Town or city | 117 | Closed |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Plus 2 beaches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Plus 7 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Plus 1 dog park without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
1 boat launch without a name on the map.
Plus 1 fishing spot without a name on the map.
Plus 7 waterfalls without a name on the map.
44 scenic views are on OpenStreetMap in all; the list shows named ones from the first 30.
36 peaks are on OpenStreetMap in all; the list shows named ones from the first 30.
4 picnic areas without a name on the map.
Plus 16 campgrounds without a name on the map.
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 8 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
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 | 14.5 | 15.2 | 14.9 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.1 |
| High (°F) | 31 | 35 | 43 | 56 | 67 | 75 | 80 | 78 | 71 | 59 | 47 | 36 |
| Rain (in) | 3.9 | 3.1 | 4.2 | 4.2 | 4.4 | 5.1 | 5.0 | 5.1 | 5.2 | 5.5 | 4.3 | 4.6 |
February is the driest month (3.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 80 °F). 5.5 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Shandaken →
Shandaken has the second most mapped trails of the 8 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shandaken | 70% | 1.0 | 3,550 | 78% | A+ |
| Olive | 39% | 0.8 | 1,510 | 32% | A |
| Middletown | 20% | 0.4 | 2,098 | 43% | A− |
| Hardenburgh | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Woodstock | 33% | 0.8 | 988 | 71% | A |
| Lexington | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Denning | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Hunter | 56% | 1.7 | 3,121 | 78% | A+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
The longest trail networks: Slide Mountain Wilderness, 47.9 miles; Shandaken Wild Forest, 21.8 miles; Big Indian Wilderness, 6 miles; Phoenicia - Mount Tobias Wild Forest, 4.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
70% 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.
OpenStreetMap records dogs as welcome at Slide Mountain Wilderness and Catskills Visitor Center (on leash). For the rest, check the signs at the trailhead.
218,493 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Shandaken or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 51,732 of them inside the town line.
Ahead of 97% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #48 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.
Conditions, parking and favorite walks from Shandaken neighbors.
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 →