Hiking Trails in New York State

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This map shows hiking trails in New York State. The trails indicated by blue lines are operated and maintained by the New York State Department of Environmental Conversation (DEC). The Trails indicated by red lines are located in state parks and are maintained by the New York State Department of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation (NYSDPRHP). There are over 7,500 trails shown here, but this is by no means an exhaustive display of trails in New York State; the map only includes trails maintained by these two organizations.

            The two sets of trails are overlaid on an ArcGIS Online Explorer topographic base map with an additional overlay of cropland. The cropland data layer comes from satellite imagery obtained by Resourcesat-1 AWiFS and Landsat satellites. The ArcGIS basemap comes from Esri. Contributions for the basemap include USGS, EPA, and NPS (see complete list in citation link).

            The DEC trail data came from their website and was transferred to ArcGIS with the help of Eileen Allen in the GIS division of the Environmental Science Department, SUNY Plattsburgh. NYSDPRHP trail data was obtained from a private website authored by Andy Arthur. Arthur obtained the trail data from the NYSDPRHP and converted them to KML files. Then I transferred them to ArcGIS Online Explorer. This data was originally collected by the NYSDPRHP using GPS units in the field.

            The NYSDPRHP trails (red lines) are widely scattered throughout the state and are located within state parks. Many are located on or near bodies of water and are primarily in forested areas. This is indicated by the green shading on the map when the cropland overlay is turned on.

            The DEC trails (blue lines) are heavily clustered in the mountainous regions of the Adirondack and Catskill Mountains, with many trails in the foothills surrounding these two regions. The Southern tier also has a heavy smattering of DEC trails. There is less clustering of blue line trails east of the Albany region and eastern Long Island. Few trails are located in the central region of New York State along I 90 and the route of the Erie Canal.

            The large percentage of trails in New York State in the Adirondack and Catskill Mountains and their foothills can be accredited to the popularity of hiking in heavily forested regions with large numbers of waterways and viewsheds. These regions have traditionally been popular vacation and recreation destinations for hikers. A contributing factor to the large number of trails in these regions is groups such as the Adirondack Mountain Club and their solicitation of volunteers to help create and maintain trails in the two major mountainous regions of the state.

            An additional approach to analyzing the trail systems of New York State is to look at where they do not exist and discuss reasons for the lack of trails in those areas. The cropland overlay on the ArcGIS map shows heavy agriculture (yellow, green, and red) and dense settlement (grey) along Interstate 90 from Albany to Buffalo and a strip well to the north and south of this route, especially from the Finger Lakes west to Buffalo along Lake Ontario. This can be attributed to the presence of alfisols deposited in the low-lying Mohawk Valley from when the Champlain Sea and it’s associated lakes drained from the melting Laurentian Ice Shield at the end of the last ice age. This process also contributed to the fertile Hudson River Valley, and an area surrounding most of the Adirondack highland as can be seen from the cropland overlay. Agriculture and heavy settlement in these areas leave little room for trail development.

            The densely populated New York City region and other major cities in New York leave little room for trails, but some trails exist where population density thins out on eastern Long Island between populated and agricultural zones. North of the city are several state parks catering to the large metropolitan population. There are forested areas and parks in Rockland and Orange Counties where population density thins out, but before heavy agriculture is evident. It is a niche that allows such land use (trails). Dense population center demand for recreation is likely the determining factor for the presence of trail systems here. Similar patterns exist throughout the state surrounding population centers.

            In analyzing trail location and density, two main factors seem to be apparent. Mountainous areas where soils are poor provide little opportunity for development. These areas are typically forested, and nature lovers and vacationers are drawn toward these less densely populated areas for recreation and relaxation. Alternately, in areas of high density population and agricultural use, little land is available for trail development.