i cannot speak to the gaited horse piece, but the trails and land around otter creek new york is quite lovely. trails go for miles and miles, the ground is quite sandy so i bet ice is minimal, though snow loads in that part of new york is admirable.
since i cannot function in heat or humidity, we’re looking north and like otter creek very much.
And now for something completely different
You can always come out here! Not the center of TWH land, but there are a lot of gaited riders here. In the Back Country group I belong to, a large percentage have gaited horses.
Great area for retirement as the next town over is a huge retirement community, so lots of resources.
Moderate weather, but we do have 4 seasons. Winter is WET! Summers dry and mild. If you live in Sequim, yearly rainfall is only 13 inches or so… goes up quite a bit as you move either direction away from Sequim. We get ~ 24 inches.
Trail access is pretty good. You should easily be able to find something bordering DNR (the DNR is 600 ft from us, so a very short road ride is needed- I usually walk it…). Once on DNR you can go forever, the wider roads are perfect for gaiting as long as you have shoes or other hoof protection, as they tend to be gravel. We also have the Olympic Discovery Trail which is great for riding…
