Jones Park

Quick Bits

Main Activities - Hike, Bike, Cross Country Ski
Distance - ~4 miles of trails
Quiet - Fairly quiet.
Surface - mix of  old roads, creek beds, and narrow forest.
Elevation - gradual slopes
Pets - On leash no longer than 15'. (While some Vestal Parks do not permit dogs, Jones Park is one that does).
Address - 97 Stateline Road, Vestal, NY

From the Jones Park Brochure.

In a Nutshell

A great town park with plenty of trails to create a variety of loops. Features include a creek, remains of a cabin, mixture of trees, and fun trail names. 

Location and Parking

Located in the town of Vestal just a mile from the Pennsylvania border on Stateline Road. There is a parking lot and Kiosk on Stateline Road about a half mile east of NYS Route 26. 

Note: Some Navigation programs use the middle of the park as the location which is problematic for driving directions as you are always close but not there.

More details

Jones Park is run by the Vestal Parks Department, which does a great job, along with friends of the park, in maintaining it. They make the most of the 304-acre park with a series of trails that, in combination, creates over 100 different possible loop hikes. The trails vary in skill, terrain, and plant life. Some creek crossings are done by rock hopping when water is not too high. 

The remains of a cabin from the 1930s can be found on Chimney Trail (guess what remains of the cabin?) as well as pieces of stone field walls elsewhere. A large wooden bridge arches over the creek at one point where your imagination can transform you into Indiana Jones. A pipeline runs near the park creating a clearing at the boundary where white-tailed deer can be seen and owls can be heard.

While dogs need to be on leash, for Jones Park, they can be on up to 25-foot leashes which gives Fido lots of roaming slack.

While once called State Line Park, the name was changed to the current one in honor of Leland Jones who was a Town of Vestal Supervisor for almost three decades. The land was purchased by the Town from Claude McPherson and first developed as a park in 1968. Over the years it was further developed and by 1995 it had most of the system of trails as seen today.

Bordering Jones Park to the north and east is land leased by the C & H Gun Club. Only those with permission from a member may enter.

Wander & Ponder Videos Recorded Here

Act Your Age! (Ep. 19)
December 3, 2023