Lutheranville State Forest
Nature preserve
215 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Worcester Historic District · Photo: Doug Kerr from Upstate New York · CC BY-SA 2.0C+Outdoors
Outdoors in Worcester
Worcester has 298 acres of parks, 139 for every 1,000 residents
1.9 miles of mapped trail cross Worcester. 1% of Worcester’s land is conserved, about 399 acres. 53% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 43% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
1%
399 acres · of 46.7 sq mi of land
Trails
1.9 mi
0.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
298 ac
139 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
53%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
2,290 ft
Pine Mountain
Lakes & rivers
2
What kind of outdoors town is Worcester?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Worcester have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Worcester is ahead of 43% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
C+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Worcester’s overall grade.
Conserved land1% of the land · typical NY town 5% · U.S. 4%CTrails0.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (2 mi) · NY 0.4 · U.S. 0.4C−Park land139 acres of park per 1,000 residents (298 acres) · NY 31 · U.S. 13AParks close to home53% 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 43%
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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
399 conserved acres
1% of Worcester’s land. Who manages Worcester’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State conservation281 ac
Regional Water Districts94 ac
Town or city8 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)8 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits7 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government1 ac
State Conservation Area · 281 acLocal Other or Unknown · 87 acLocal Park · 8 acConservation Easement · 8 acLocal Resource Management Area · 7 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 11 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 2 of 12 parcels. 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 | 217 | Open |
| Worcester Water Dist No 2 Land Local Other or Unknown | Regional Water Districts | 87 | Unknown |
| Decatur State Forest State Conservation Area | State conservation | 64 | Open |
| Town Of Worcester Land Local Park | Town or city | 8 | Unknown |
| Worcester Water District Lands Local Resource Management Area | Regional Water Districts | 6 | Open |
| Worcester Baseball Organization Lands Private Other or Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 4 | Closed |
| Worcester Town Lands Local Resource Management Area | Other or Unknown Local Government | 1 | Open |
Things to do
8 places to go in Worcester
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in Worcester
Worcester Public Pool
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Worcester
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Fishing spots in Worcester
Schenevus Creek Fishing Access
DirectionsPeaks in Worcester
Pine Mountain2,290 ft elevation
DirectionsSouth Hill2,231 ft elevation
DirectionsStone Quarry Hill2,195 ft elevation · In Decatur State Forest
DirectionsPine Hill2,064 ft elevation
DirectionsStrain Mountain1,998 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
2 lakes & rivers
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
2Baseball
2Soccer
1Tennis
1Basketball
1Softball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
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 Worcester: 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 | 76 | 69 | 57 | 44 | 34 |
| Rain (in) | 3.0 | 2.6 | 3.3 | 3.8 | 4.0 | 4.9 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.3 | 4.5 | 3.3 | 3.5 |
February is the driest month (2.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 77 °F). 4.9 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Worcester →
Next door
Worcester and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Decatur4.9 miWestford4.9 miHarpersfield4.5 miMaryland4.1 miRichmondville3.4 miSummit2.7 miWorcester1.9 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Worcester | 1% | under 0.1 | 139 | 53% | C+ |
| Harpersfield | 1% | 0.1 | 21 | 24% | C |
| Summit | 10% | 0.1 | 2,229 | 21% | B |
| Decatur | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Richmondville | 1% | 0.1 | 9 | 36% | C |
| Maryland | 7% | 0.1 | 1,342 | 40% | B |
| Westford | — 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 Worcester
How much of Worcester is conserved land?
1% 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 Worcester’s trails?
Lutheranville State Forest and Decatur State Forest don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Worcester?
28,451 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Worcester or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 298 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Worcester have?
Ahead of 43% 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 Worcester 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 →