A Guide to Federal, State and Local Forests and Parks
There are more than 4 million acres of land open to the public for recreation. These lands are managed by different federal and state agencies, as well as municipal entities. Below is an explanation of who manages what lands.
DEC Recreation Lands
DEC manages the most public recreation land in New York State. These lands include:
- The Adirondack and Catskill Forest Preserve *
- State Forests
- Wildlife Management Areas, and
- State-operated campgrounds in the Adirondack and Catskill Parks.
*A note about the Adirondack and Catskill regions: While these two regions are called "parks", they are not State Parks (see below), and approximately half of each park remains in private ownership.