Glimmerglass State Park
Managed by New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation
559 acres3.2 mi of trail
SL Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: Mr. Matté (if there is an issue with this image, contact me using this image's Commons talk page, my Commons user talk page, or my English Wikipedia user talk page; I'll know about it a lot faster) · CC BY-SA 4.0B−Outdoors
Outdoors in Springfield
Springfield has 809 acres of parks, 849 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Glimmerglass State Park (3.2 mi). 3% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 6% of Springfield’s land is conserved, about 1,678 acres.
Ahead of 53% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
6%
1,678 acres · of 42.9 sq mi of land
Trails
7.2 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
809 ac
849 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
3%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
2,103 ft
Rum Hill
Lakes & rivers
6
1 beach
What kind of outdoors town is Springfield?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Springfield have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Springfield is ahead of 53% of U.S. towns. 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 Springfield’s overall grade.
Conserved land6% of the land · typical NY town 5% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (7 mi) · NY 0.4 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land849 acres of park per 1,000 residents (809 acres) · NY 31 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home3% of residents within a half mile of a park · NY 70% · U.S. 72%D
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 53%
LessMore
Water is 6% of Springfield’s area (3 of 46 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 6%.
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 Glimmerglass State Park, with 3.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Rum Hill
Managed by SUNY Oneonta Biological Field Station
234 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Goodyear Swamp Sanctuary
Managed by SUNY Oneonta Biological Field Station
6 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
1,678 conserved acres
6% of Springfield’s land. Water is left out: Springfield has 42.9 square miles of land and 2.6 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Springfield’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits826 ac
State parks567 ac
Other state land261 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)260 ac
Town or city1 ac
Private owners1 ac
State Park · 554 acRecreation or Education Easement · 397 acConservation Easement · 358 acAgricultural Easement · 300 acState Resource Management Area · 261 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 820 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 24 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Glimmerglass State Park State Park | State parks | 554 | Open |
| Suny Oneonta Biological Field Station State Resource Management Area | Other state land | 261 | Open |
| Glimmerglass Opera Lands Private Other or Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 22 | Closed |
| Hyde Hall State Historic Site State Historic or Cultural Area | State parks | 13 | Open |
| Summit Lake Preserve Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 6 | Closed |
| Town Of Springfield Land Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Unknown |
| Private Lands Private Other or Unknown | Private owners | 1 | Closed |
Things to do
13 places to go in Springfield
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Springfield
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Springfield
3 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Scenic views in Springfield
1 scenic view without a name on the map.
Peaks in Springfield
Rum Hill2,103 ft elevation
DirectionsKing Hill1,877 ft elevation
DirectionsMount Wellington1,827 ft elevation
DirectionsPine Cobble1,765 ft elevation
DirectionsBriar Hill1,608 ft elevation
DirectionsMount Tom1,608 ft elevation
DirectionsWaiontha Mountain
DirectionsCampgrounds in Springfield
Cooperstown Shadow Brook CampgroundFee
DirectionsTrails & water
4 named trails and 6 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 2.4 mi
Forest Trail0.5 mi
SL Trail0.5 mi
Overlook Trail0.4 mi
Vernal Pond Trail0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
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
3Tennis
1Basketball
1Soccer
1Baseball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →6 places on the National Register, one a National Historic Landmark
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 1 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The best walking months in Springfield: May 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) | 9.4 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.6 | 15.3 | 15.0 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 29 | 31 | 40 | 54 | 66 | 74 | 79 | 77 | 70 | 58 | 45 | 34 |
| Rain (in) | 3.0 | 2.7 | 3.4 | 3.8 | 3.8 | 4.6 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 3.9 | 4.3 | 3.3 | 3.5 |
February is the driest month (2.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 79 °F). 4.6 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Springfield →
Next door
Springfield and its neighbors
Springfield has the second most mapped trails of the 7 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Middlefield11 miSpringfield7.2 miOtsego4.9 miStark2.6 miCherry Valley2.1 miWarren0.9 miRichfield0.2 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Springfield | 6% | 0.2 | 849 | 3% | B− |
| Otsego | 7% | 0.1 | 173 | 47% | B |
| Warren | 1% | under 0.1 | 128 | 22% | C |
| Cherry Valley | 8% | 0.1 | 896 | 28% | B |
| Stark | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Middlefield | 9% | 0.2 | 385 | 16% | B |
| Richfield | 3% | under 0.1 | 189 | 60% | B− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Springfield
Where can I hike in Springfield?
The longest trail networks: Glimmerglass State Park, 3.2 miles; Goodyear Swamp Sanctuary, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Springfield 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 Springfield’s trails?
Glimmerglass State Park and Rum Hill don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Springfield?
14,659 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Springfield or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 834 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Springfield have?
Ahead of 53% 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 Springfield 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 →