Buttercup Farm Audubon Sanctuary
Nature preserve
621 acres7.4 mi of trail
Red TrailBlue TrailBluebird (Red) TrailGreen Trail+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto Mountain Road Trailhead
Dr. Cornelius Nase Campbell House · Photo: Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 4.0B−Outdoors
Outdoors in Stanford
Stanford has 303 acres of parks, 82 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Buttercup Farm Audubon Sanctuary (7.4 mi), Stissing Mountain Multiple Use Area (2.3 mi), Whitlock Preserve (1 mi). 21% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 12 miles of mapped trail cross Stanford, 0.2 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 48% of U.S. towns · #570 of 758 in New York. What drives it
Conserved land
3%
840 acres · of 49.6 sq mi of land
Trails
12 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
303 ac
82 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
21%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
1,014 ft
Carpenter Hill
Lakes & rivers
3
What kind of outdoors town is Stanford?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Stanford have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Stanford is ahead of 48% of U.S. towns, #570 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 Stanford’s overall grade.
Conserved land3% of the land · typical NY town 5% · U.S. 4%B−Trails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (12 mi) · NY 0.4 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land82 acres of park per 1,000 residents (303 acres) · NY 31 · U.S. 13AParks close to home21% 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 48%
LessMore
New York towns of 2,500+ (758)Ahead of 25%
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 Buttercup Farm Audubon Sanctuary, with 7.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Stissing Mountain Multiple Use Area
Park
195 acres2.3 mi of trail
Blue Buzzard TrailYellow Warbler Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Whitlock Preserve
Park
34 acres1 mi of trail
Blue TrailOrange Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Stanford Recreation Park
Park
20 acres0.7 mi of trail
Beach Path
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Who protects it
840 conserved acres
3% of Stanford’s land. Who manages Stanford’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits745 ac
State conservation202 ac
Town or city83 ac
Private Other or Unknown · 365 acState Resource Management Area · 197 acOther Easement · 191 acConservation Easement · 190 acLocal Park · 83 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 193 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 4 of 8 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| National Audubon Society Lands Private Other or Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 365 | Closed |
| Stissing Mountain Multiple Use Area State Resource Management Area | State conservation | 197 | Open |
| Town Of Stanford Land Local Park | Town or city | 83 | Unknown |
| Wappinger Creek Fishing Access State Recreation Area | State conservation | 2 | Open |
Things to do
8 places to go in Stanford
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Fishing spots in Stanford
Wappinger Creek Fishing Access
DirectionsScenic views in Stanford
1 scenic view without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Peaks in Stanford
Carpenter Hill1,014 ft elevation
DirectionsOld Roundtop889 ft elevation
DirectionsShelly Hill679 ft elevation
DirectionsProspect Hill630 ft elevation
DirectionsOld Attlebury Hill554 ft elevation
DirectionsDolphin HillIn Buttercup Farm Audubon Sanctuary
DirectionsTrails & water
10 named trails and 3 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 2.1 mi
Red Trail2.6 mi
Blue Trail2.2 mi
Bluebird (Red) Trail1.0 mi
Green Trail1.0 mi
White Trail0.6 mi
Yellow Trail0.5 mi
Blue Buzzard Trail0.3 mi
Orange Trail0.3 mi
Beach Path0.2 mi
Yellow Warbler Trail0.2 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
4Baseball
4Soccer
4Tennis
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).
Dr. Cornelius Nase Campbell HouseBuilding · listed 2007
About itPulver-Bird, HouseBuilding · listed 2008
About itBangall Post OfficeBuilding · listed 2014
About itAttlebury SchoolhouseBuilding · listed 2016
About itWalter Beckwith HouseDistrict · listed 2016
About itWethersfieldDistrict · listed 2021
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Stanford: 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 | 14.5 | 15.2 | 14.9 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.1 |
| High (°F) | 35 | 38 | 47 | 60 | 71 | 79 | 84 | 82 | 74 | 62 | 50 | 40 |
| Rain (in) | 2.8 | 2.4 | 3.0 | 3.3 | 3.7 | 4.3 | 4.2 | 4.4 | 4.4 | 4.2 | 3.1 | 3.4 |
February is the driest month (2.4 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 4.4 inches fall in September, the wettest month. The climate in Stanford →
Next door
Stanford and its neighbors
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stanford | 3% | 0.2 | 82 | 21% | B− |
| Clinton | 2% | under 0.1 | 19 | 17% | C |
| Washington | 1% | under 0.1 | 35 | 27% | C |
| Pine Plains | 8% | 0.4 | 415 | 47% | A− |
| North East | 15% | 0.5 | 942 | 69% | A |
| Milan | 7% | 0.3 | 367 | 10% | B |
| Amenia | 3% | 0.2 | 162 | 44% | B− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Stanford
Where can I hike in Stanford?
The longest trail networks: Buttercup Farm Audubon Sanctuary, 7.4 miles; Stissing Mountain Multiple Use Area, 2.3 miles; Whitlock Preserve, 1 miles; Stanford Recreation Park, 0.7 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Stanford is conserved land?
3% 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 Stanford’s trails?
Buttercup Farm Audubon Sanctuary and Stissing Mountain Multiple Use Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Stanford?
14,313 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Stanford or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 304 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Stanford have?
Ahead of 48% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #570 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 Stanford 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 →