Horseshoe Lake Wild Forest
Managed by New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
3,225 acres3.6 mi of trail
Goodman Mountain TrailConey Mountain Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trailheadWebsite ↗
Photo: The original uploader was Duke53 at English Wikipedia. · CC BY-SA 2.5AOutdoors
Outdoors in Tupper Lake
Tupper Lake has 8,047 acres of parks, 1,577 for every 1,000 residents
38% of Tupper Lake’s land is conserved, about 28,911 acres. The biggest trail networks: Horseshoe Lake Wild Forest (3.6 mi), Saranac Lakes Wild Forest (2.9 mi). 77% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 92% of U.S. towns · #113 of 758 in New York. What drives it
Conserved land
38%
28,911 acres · of 117.4 sq mi of land
Trails
46 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
8,047 ac
1,577 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
77%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
8.5 mi
2.1 mi paths
Highest peak
3,117 ft
Mount Morris
Lakes & rivers
36
4 beaches · 2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Tupper Lake?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Tupper Lake have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Tupper Lake is ahead of 92% of U.S. towns, #113 of 758 in New York. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; park acres per resident rank highest, trail miles lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Tupper Lake’s overall grade.
Conserved land38% of the land · typical NY town 5% · U.S. 4%A+Trails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (46 mi) · NY 0.4 · U.S. 0.4BPark land1,577 acres of park per 1,000 residents (8,047 acres) · NY 31 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home77% 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 92%
LessMore
New York towns of 2,500+ (758)Ahead of 85%
Water is 10% of Tupper Lake’s area (13 of 130 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 35%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from A− 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 Horseshoe Lake Wild Forest, with 3.6 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Saranac Lakes Wild Forest
Managed by New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
4,673 acres2.9 mi of trail
Adirondack Rail TrailFloodwood Mountain TrailWest Pine Pond TrailWest Pine – East Pine Ponds Carry
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trailheadWebsite ↗
Raquette-Jordan Boreal Primitive Area
Managed by New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
31 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Who protects it
28,911 conserved acres
38% of Tupper Lake’s land. Water is left out: Tupper Lake has 117.4 square miles of land and 12.7 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Tupper Lake’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State conservation29,288 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits23,620 ac
Town or city46 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government2 ac
Conservation Easement · 12,212 acPrivate Conservation · 11,407 acUnknown Easement · 10,696 acForest Stewardship Easement · 10,543 acState Conservation Area · 7,947 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 15,110 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 16 of 53 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spring Pond Bog Preserve Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 8,478 | Open |
| Saranac Lakes Wild Forest State Conservation Area | State conservation | 4,684 | Open |
| Horseshoe Lake Wild Forest State Conservation Area | State conservation | 3,230 | Open |
| Follensby Pond Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 2,921 | Closed |
| Saranac Lakes State Resource Management Area | State conservation | 100 | Open |
| Raquette-Jordan Boreal Primitive Area State Conservation Area | State conservation | 33 | Open |
| Village Of Tupper Lake Land Local Park | Town or city | 25 | Unknown |
| Town of Tupper Lake Land Local Park | Town or city | 19 | Unknown |
| Big Simons Pond Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 4 | Restricted |
| Big Simons Pond Preserve Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 4 | Open |
3 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
27 places to go in Tupper Lake
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Tupper Lake
4 beaches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Playgrounds in Tupper Lake
2 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Boat launches in Tupper Lake
2 boat launches without a name on the map.
Scenic views in Tupper Lake
3 scenic views without a name on the map.
Peaks in Tupper Lake
Mount Morris3,117 ft elevation
DirectionsBuck Mountain2,575 ft elevation
DirectionsIron Mountain2,474 ft elevation
DirectionsFloodwood Mountain2,280 ft elevation · In Saranac Lakes Wild Forest
DirectionsConey Mountain2,267 ft elevation · In Horseshoe Lake Wild Forest
DirectionsGoodman Mountain2,162 ft elevation · In Horseshoe Lake Wild Forest
DirectionsCampgrounds in Tupper Lake
10 campgrounds without a name on the map.
Trails & water
8 named trails and 36 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 1.0 miUnpaved · 25.9 mi
Adirondack Rail Trail6.7 mi
Goodman Mountain Trail1.5 mi
Floodwood Mountain Trail1.0 mi
Coney Mountain Trail1.0 mi
Ridge Trail0.7 mi
Gull Pond0.5 mi
West Pine Pond Trail0.4 mi
Gatehouse Trail0.2 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Blue PondDeer PondDry Channel PondDuck LakelakeEast PondGreenleaf PondpondGull PondHaymeadow PondHeavens LakeHeavens PondLake MadeleineLine PondLittle Simon PondLittle Wolf PondLost PondMcBride PondMountain PondMud PondOtter PondPitchfork PondPotter PondRiver PondRock PondSaint Hubert PondSimon PondSpectacle PondsSpring PondSunset PondTupper LakelakeTupper Lake ReservoirreservoirWest Pine PondWillis PondWindfall PondWolf PondWoodbury PondRaquette River
Biking & sports
8.5 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
2.1 mi
off-road bike paths
6.4 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
7Baseball
3Beach volleyball
2Tennis
1Basketball
1Field hockey
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →3 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 Tupper Lake: May, August 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) | 9.2 | 10.4 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.8 | 15.5 | 15.2 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.5 | 8.9 |
| High (°F) | 26 | 29 | 38 | 52 | 66 | 73 | 78 | 76 | 69 | 55 | 42 | 31 |
| Rain (in) | 3.0 | 2.4 | 2.8 | 3.5 | 3.8 | 4.5 | 4.3 | 3.9 | 4.0 | 4.4 | 3.4 | 3.3 |
February is the driest month (2.4 in) and July the warmest (highs of 78 °F). 4.5 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Tupper Lake →
Next door
Tupper Lake and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Santa Clara149 miLong Lake122 miHarrietstown116 miPiercefield54 miWaverly54 miHopkinton48 miTupper Lake46 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tupper Lake | 38% | 0.4 | 1,577 | 77% | A |
| Harrietstown | 88% | 0.6 | 6,651 | 97% | A+ |
| Piercefield | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Santa Clara | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Waverly | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Long Lake | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Hopkinton | 50% | 0.3 | 10,945 | 36% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Tupper Lake
Where can I hike in Tupper Lake?
The longest trail networks: Horseshoe Lake Wild Forest, 3.6 miles; Saranac Lakes Wild Forest, 2.9 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Tupper Lake is conserved land?
38% 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 Tupper Lake’s trails?
Horseshoe Lake Wild Forest and Saranac Lakes Wild Forest don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Tupper Lake?
8.5 miles of bike routes are on the map: 2.1 of off-road paths and 6.4 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Tupper Lake?
221,191 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Tupper Lake or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 8,149 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Tupper Lake have?
Ahead of 92% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #113 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 Tupper Lake 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 →