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AOutdoors
Outdoors in Stamford

Stamford has 1,836 acres of parks, 949 for every 1,000 residents

25% of Stamford’s land is conserved, about 7,918 acres. The biggest trail networks: Plattekill State Forest (1.2 mi), Duggan Hill Unit (0.5 mi). 16 miles of mapped trail cross Stamford, 0.3 per square mile of land.

Ahead of 86% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Conserved land
25%
7,918 acres · of 48.5 sq mi of land
Trails
16 mi
0.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,836 ac
949 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
64%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
3,251 ft
Moresville Range HP
Lakes & rivers
1

What kind of outdoors town is Stamford?

Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.

Room to roam949 acres of park per 1,000 residents; the typical U.S. town has 13.Land that stays wild25% of the land is conserved; a typical New York town, 5%.History along the way3 places on the National Register.
Outdoors grade

How much outdoors does Stamford have?

On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Stamford is ahead of 86% of U.S. towns. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; park acres per resident rank highest, the share of residents near a park lowest.

A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Stamford’s overall grade.
Conserved land25% of the land · typical NY town 5% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (16 mi) · NY 0.4 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land949 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,836 acres) · NY 31 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home64% of residents within a half mile of a park · NY 70% · U.S. 72%B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 86%
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.

1234
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 Plattekill State Forest, with 1.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.

Plattekill State Forest

Nature preserve
295 acres1.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗

Duggan Hill Unit

Managed by New York City Department of Environmental Protection, Bureau of Water Supply
44 acres0.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗

Relay State Forest

Nature preserve
1,166 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗

Pink Street Unit

Managed by New York City Department of Environmental Protection, Bureau of Water Supply
586 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
All 20 parks & preserves
Plattekill State Forest295 acres · 1.2 mi of trail
Duggan Hill Unit44 acres · 0.5 mi of trail · New York City Department of Environmental Protection, Bureau of Water Supply
Township Valley Unit124 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · New York City Department of Environmental Protection, Bureau of Water Supply
Directions
Relay State Forest1,166 acres
Pink Street Unit586 acres · New York City Department of Environmental Protection, Bureau of Water Supply
Utsayantha Unit245 acres · New York City Department of Environmental Protection, Bureau of Water Supply
Directions
Churchill Mountain Unit186 acres · New York City Department of Environmental Protection, Bureau of Water Supply
Narrow Notch Unit168 acres · New York City Department of Environmental Protection, Bureau of Water Supply
Michael Kudish Natural History Preserve160 acres
Roses Brook Farm Unit148 acres · New York City Department of Environmental Protection, Bureau of Water Supply
Griffin Hill Unit140 acres · New York City Department of Environmental Protection, Bureau of Water Supply
Whiskey Tower Unit120 acres · New York City Department of Environmental Protection, Bureau of Water Supply
Bloomville Unit99 acres · New York City Department of Environmental Protection, Bureau of Water Supply
Gun House Hill Unit88 acres · New York City Department of Environmental Protection, Bureau of Water Supply
Roses Brook Unit79 acres · New York City Department of Environmental Protection, Bureau of Water Supply
Stamford Forest Preserve Detached Parcel78 acres
West Settlement Unit69 acres · New York City Department of Environmental Protection, Bureau of Water Supply
Town Brook Unit28 acres · New York City Department of Environmental Protection, Bureau of Water Supply
Valley View Unit24 acres · New York City Department of Environmental Protection, Bureau of Water Supply
Cape Horn Unit3 acres · New York City Department of Environmental Protection, Bureau of Water Supply
Who protects it

7,918 conserved acres

25% of Stamford’s land. Who manages Stamford’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.

Land trusts & nonprofits4,542 ac
State conservation3,338 ac
Town or city1,502 ac
Agricultural Easement · 4,542 acState Conservation Area · 1,547 acOther Easement · 1,394 acWatershed Protection Area · 824 acLocal Other or Unknown · 342 ac
Good to know

Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 4,962 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 68 of 86 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.

The biggest protected parcels
Parcel (PAD-US)Managed byAcresPublic access
Relay State Forest
State Conservation Area
State conservation1,170Open
New York City Dept. of Environmental Protection 1
Watershed Protection Area
Town or city543Closed
Plattekill State Forest
State Conservation Area
State conservation297Open
New York City Watershed
Watershed Protection Area
Town or city281Closed
Churchill Mountain
Local Other or Unknown
Town or city188Unknown
Hobart Village Inc Land
Local Park
Town or city175Unknown
Township Valley
Local Other or Unknown
Town or city126Unknown
New York City Lands
Local Resource Management Area
Town or city94Open
Stamford Fp Detached Parcel
State Conservation Area
State conservation80Open
Village of Hobart Land
Local Park
Town or city42Unknown

5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.

Things to do

19 places to go in Stamford

Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.

Peaks in Stamford
Moresville Range HP3,251 ft elevation
Directions
Narrow Notch Mountain3,232 ft elevation
Directions
Utsayantha Mountain3,209 ft elevation
Directions
McGregor Mountain3,192 ft elevation · In Stamford Forest Preserve Detached Parcel
Directions
Cowan Mountain3,068 ft elevation
Directions
Churchill Mountain3,064 ft elevation
Directions
Moresville Range SW Peak3,051 ft elevation
Directions
East Gray Hill2,989 ft elevation · In West Settlement Unit
Directions
6 more peaks
Lyon Mountain2,927 ft elevation
Directions
Hardscrabble2,920 ft elevation · In Duggan Hill Unit
Directions
Bovina Mountain2,543 ft elevation
Directions
Mount Bob2,011 ft elevation
Directions
Griffin Hill2,005 ft elevation
Directions
Bovina Mountain
Directions
Trails & water

2 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers

Named trails
Open to bikes · 8.8 miUnpaved · 12.3 mi
Catskill Scenic Trail8.8 mi
cross country ski trail0.5 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
West Branch Delaware River
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.

Catskill Scenic TrailBike route
8.8 mi
Courts & fields
1Basketball
1Baseball

Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.

History along the way

3 places on the National Register

The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).

History →
St. Peter's Episcopal Church ComplexBuilding · listed 1998
About it
Hobart Masonic HallBuilding · listed 2001
About it
Erskine L. Seeley HouseBuilding · listed 2010
About it
When to get out

The best walking months in Stamford: May and July

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.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)9.410.511.813.314.615.315.013.912.411.09.79.1
High (°F)303341546674787670584535
Rain (in)2.82.43.03.64.04.74.44.44.44.33.23.4

February is the driest month (2.4 in) and July the warmest (highs of 78 °F). 4.7 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Stamford →

Next door

Stamford and its neighbors

Stamford has the second most mapped trails of the 7 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.

Roxbury32 miStamford16 miDelhi12 miKortright8.7 miBovina5.9 miHarpersfield4.5 miBloomville0.4 mi
TownConserved
of land		Trail mi
per sq mi		Park acres
per 1,000		Near a park
½ mile		Outdoors
Stamford25%0.394964%A
Kortright11%0.118%C
Harpersfield1%0.12124%C
Roxbury19%0.41,0789%B+
Bovina— not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town
Bloomville— not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town
Delhi12%0.24359%B+

The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.

Questions about parks and trails in Stamford

Where can I hike in Stamford?

The longest trail networks: Plattekill State Forest, 1.2 miles; Duggan Hill Unit, 0.5 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.

How much of Stamford is conserved land?

25% 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 Stamford’s trails?

Plattekill State Forest and Duggan Hill Unit don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.

Is there public land near Stamford?

18,420 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Stamford or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,938 of them inside the town line.

How much outdoors does Stamford have?

Ahead of 86% 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 Stamford neighbors.

Town Square →
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 →