Burnt-Rossman Hills State Forest
Managed by New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
410 acres1.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Bute-Warner-Truax Farm · Photo: Desiree Josephson · CC BY-SA 4.0BOutdoors
Outdoors in Summit
Summit has 2,175 acres of parks, 2,229 for every 1,000 residents
10% of Summit’s land is conserved, about 2,313 acres. The biggest trail networks: Burnt-Rossman Hills State Forest (1.3 mi). 21% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 58% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
10%
2,313 acres · of 37.1 sq mi of land
Trails
2.7 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
2,175 ac
2,229 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
21%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
2,329 ft
The Cobble
Lakes & rivers
5
What kind of outdoors town is Summit?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Summit have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Summit is ahead of 58% 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 Summit’s overall grade.
Conserved land10% of the land · typical NY town 5% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (3 mi) · NY 0.4 · U.S. 0.4CPark land2,229 acres of park per 1,000 residents (2,175 acres) · NY 31 · U.S. 13A+Parks 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 58%
LessMore
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 Burnt-Rossman Hills State Forest, with 1.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Lutheranville State Forest
Nature preserve
1,568 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Mallet Pond State Forest
Nature preserve
87 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Paulson Preserve
Managed by Schoharie Land Trust
83 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Who protects it
2,313 conserved acres
10% of Summit’s land. Who manages Summit’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State conservation2,079 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits234 ac
State Conservation Area · 2,079 acConservation Easement · 83 acPrivate Conservation · 81 acAgricultural Easement · 70 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 153 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lutheranville State Forest State Conservation Area | State conservation | 1,577 | Open |
| Burnt-Rossman Hills State Forest State Conservation Area | State conservation | 414 | Open |
| Mallet Pond State Forest State Conservation Area | State conservation | 88 | Open |
| Schoharie Land Trust Land Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 81 | Closed |
Things to do
3 places to go in Summit
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Peaks in Summit
The Cobble2,329 ft elevation
DirectionsWayman Hill2,057 ft elevation
DirectionsMeade Hill2,031 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
5 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
History along the way
History →2 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
When to get out
The best walking months in Summit: May, July 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 | 9.1 |
| High (°F) | 29 | 32 | 40 | 53 | 65 | 73 | 77 | 75 | 69 | 57 | 44 | 34 |
| Rain (in) | 2.9 | 2.5 | 3.3 | 3.7 | 4.0 | 4.7 | 4.4 | 4.5 | 4.2 | 4.4 | 3.1 | 3.4 |
February is the driest month (2.5 in) and July the warmest (highs of 77 °F). 4.7 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Summit →
Next door
Summit 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Summit | 10% | 0.1 | 2,229 | 21% | B |
| Worcester | 1% | under 0.1 | 139 | 53% | C+ |
| Jefferson | 6% | 0.5 | 1,045 | 26% | B+ |
| Richmondville | 1% | 0.1 | 9 | 36% | C |
| Fulton | 27% | 0.4 | 8,777 | 64% | A |
| Blenheim | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Summit
Where can I hike in Summit?
The longest trail networks: Burnt-Rossman Hills State Forest, 1.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Summit is conserved land?
10% 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 Summit’s trails?
Burnt-Rossman Hills State Forest and Lutheranville State Forest don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Summit?
31,979 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Summit or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 2,175 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Summit have?
Ahead of 58% 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 Summit 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 →