Taconic Ridge State Forest
Nature preserve
1,857 acres7.6 mi of trail
Taconic Crest Trailold trailRobinson Hollow trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: John Phelan · CC BY 3.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Stephentown
Stephentown has 2,326 acres of parks, 839 for every 1,000 residents
17% of Stephentown’s land is conserved, about 6,336 acres. The biggest trail networks: Taconic Ridge State Forest (7.6 mi), Albert Family Community Forest (3.8 mi), Gutierrez Family Forest (2.7 mi). 41 miles of mapped trail cross Stephentown, 0.7 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 78% of U.S. towns · #251 of 758 in New York. What drives it
Conserved land
17%
6,336 acres · of 57.9 sq mi of land
Trails
41 mi
0.7 per sq mi of land
Park land
2,326 ac
839 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
12%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.2 mi
1.2 mi paths
Highest peak
2,247 ft
Rounds Mountain
Lakes & rivers
6
What kind of outdoors town is Stephentown?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Stephentown have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Stephentown is ahead of 78% of U.S. towns, #251 of 758 in New York. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Stephentown’s overall grade.
Conserved land17% of the land · typical NY town 5% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.7 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (41 mi) · NY 0.4 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land839 acres of park per 1,000 residents (2,326 acres) · NY 31 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home12% 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 78%
LessMore
New York towns of 2,500+ (758)Ahead of 67%
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 Taconic Ridge State Forest, with 7.6 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Albert Family Community Forest
Managed by Hudson Taconic Lands
300 acres3.8 mi of trail
Orchard Trail (yellow)Susan's Ramble (white)Homestead Trail (blue)Cascades Trail (orange)
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Gutierrez Family Forest
Managed by Hudson Taconic Lands
92 acres2.7 mi of trail
Bobcat Trail (Yellow)Ken's Ski Trail (White)Lila Jean's Walk (Yellow)Mink Circle Trail (Red)+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Capital District Wildlife Management Area
Managed by New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
735 acres2.2 mi of trail
Canyon Trail (Brown)Mill Pond Trail (Red/Yellow)Charcoal Trail (Yellow)Mill Pond Trail (Red)
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Robert Ingalls Preserve
Managed by Hudson Taconic Lands
51 acres1.6 mi of trail
Main Trail (yellow)Blue trailLoop TrailRed trail+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Who protects it
6,336 conserved acres
17% of Stephentown’s land. Who manages Stephentown’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State conservation5,026 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits2,383 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government34 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)17 ac
State Resource Management Area · 2,318 acState Conservation Area · 1,832 acPrivate Forest Stewardship · 1,651 acUnknown Easement · 910 acPrivate Conservation · 323 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 209 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 17 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capital District Wma State Resource Management Area | State conservation | 2,318 | Open |
| Taconic Ridge State Forest State Conservation Area | State conservation | 1,832 | Open |
| The Conservation Fund Land Private Forest Stewardship | Land trusts & nonprofits | 1,651 | Closed |
| Rensselaer Plateau Alliance Land Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 270 | Open |
| Rensselaer Land Trust Land Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 54 | Closed |
| Robert Ingalls Preserve Private Recreation or Education | Land trusts & nonprofits | 34 | Open |
Things to do
10 places to go in Stephentown
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Scenic views in Stephentown
1 scenic view without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Peaks in Stephentown
Rounds Mountain2,247 ft elevation
DirectionsRounds Mountain2,241 ft elevation
DirectionsJohnson Hill1,762 ft elevation
DirectionsBuckwheat Hill1,739 ft elevation
DirectionsMoore Hill1,667 ft elevation
DirectionsTurner Mountain1,660 ft elevation
DirectionsPomeroy Hill1,480 ft elevation
DirectionsBald Hill1,204 ft elevation
Directions1 more peak
Roberts Hill1,037 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
24 named trails and 6 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 4.9 miHorses · 4.9 miUnpaved · 28.3 mi
Taconic Crest Trail4.9 mi
old trail2.1 mi
Orchard Trail (yellow)1.3 mi
Susan's Ramble (white)1.1 mi
Main Trail (yellow)1.0 mi
Mill Pond Trail (Red/Yellow)1.0 mi
Canyon Trail (Brown)0.9 mi
Robinson Hollow trail0.8 mi
Bobcat Trail (Yellow)0.7 mi
Lila Jean's Walk (Yellow)0.7 mi
14 more trails
Ken's Ski Trail (White)
0.6 miMink Circle Trail (Red)
0.5 miHomestead Trail (blue)
0.5 miWyomanock Preserve Trail
0.4 miCascades Trail (orange)
0.4 miCharcoal Trail (Yellow)
0.4 miHeron Trail (Red)
0.3 miMill Pond Trail (Red)
0.2 miBlue trail
0.2 miLoop Trail
0.2 miRed trail
0.1 miNearside trail (white)
0.1 miLila Jean's Walk (Yellow) / Ken's Ski Trail (White)
0.1 miParallel trail (yellow)
0.1 miLakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
1.2 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.2 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
May is the best month for walking in Stephentown
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) | 31 | 34 | 43 | 56 | 68 | 76 | 80 | 79 | 71 | 59 | 47 | 36 |
| Rain (in) | 3.1 | 2.4 | 3.2 | 3.4 | 3.8 | 4.6 | 4.4 | 4.2 | 4.5 | 4.3 | 3.3 | 3.5 |
February is the driest month (2.4 in) and July the warmest (highs of 80 °F). 4.6 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Stephentown →
Next door
Stephentown and its neighbors
Stephentown has the second most mapped trails of the 5 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stephentown | 17% | 0.7 | 839 | 12% | A− |
| Nassau | 2% | 0.2 | 88 | 30% | B− |
| New Lebanon | 14% | 0.4 | 626 | 38% | A− |
| East Nassau | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Berlin | 42% | 1.0 | 3,286 | 31% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Stephentown
Where can I hike in Stephentown?
The longest trail networks: Taconic Ridge State Forest, 7.6 miles; Albert Family Community Forest, 3.8 miles; Gutierrez Family Forest, 2.7 miles; Capital District Wildlife Management Area, 2.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Stephentown is conserved land?
17% 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 Stephentown’s trails?
Taconic Ridge State Forest and Albert Family Community Forest don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Stephentown?
1.2 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.2 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Stephentown?
65,629 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Stephentown or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 4,449 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Stephentown have?
Ahead of 78% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #251 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 Stephentown 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 →