Osbornedale State Park
Nature preserve
414 acres6.7 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Sterling Opera House · Photo: Own work · CC BY-SA 3.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Derby
Derby has 12 miles of mapped trails, 2.4 for every square mile of land
11% of Derby’s land is conserved, about 352 acres. The biggest trail networks: Osbornedale State Park (6.7 mi), Witek Park (2.3 mi), Fountain Lake (0.7 mi). 84% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 90% of U.S. towns · #38 of 155 in Connecticut. What drives it
Conserved land
11%
352 acres · of 5.1 sq mi of land
Trails
12 mi
2.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
278 ac
22 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
84%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
5.2 mi
2.0 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
6
3 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Derby?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Derby have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Derby is ahead of 90% of U.S. towns, #38 of 155 in Connecticut. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; trail miles rank highest, park acres per resident lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Derby’s overall grade.
Conserved land11% of the land · typical CT town 15% · U.S. 4%A−Trails2.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (12 mi) · CT 1.4 · U.S. 0.4A+Park land22 acres of park per 1,000 residents (278 acres) · CT 22 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home84% of residents within a half mile of a park · CT 57% · U.S. 72%B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 90%
LessMore
Connecticut towns of 2,500+ (155)Ahead of 76%
Connecticut towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 15%; the U.S., 4%), so Derby’s 11% is ahead of 25% of Connecticut towns, while its trails per square mile lead 84% of them.
Water is 6% of Derby’s area (0 of 5 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 10%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from A− to A. 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
The longest trail network is Osbornedale State Park, with 6.7 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Fountain Lake
Managed by Town of Seymour;City of Ansonia;City of Derby
40 acres0.7 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 7 parks & preserves
Osbornedale State Park414 acres · 6.7 mi of trail
DirectionsWitek Park145 acres · 2.3 mi of trail
DirectionsFountain Lake40 acres · 0.7 mi of trail · Town of Seymour;City of Ansonia;City of Derby
O'Sullivan's Island Recreation Park7 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsCoon Hollow Park15 acres
DirectionsDerby Greenway11 acres
DirectionsEast Derby Green1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
352 conserved acres
11% of Derby’s land. Water is left out: Derby has 5.1 square miles of land and 0.4 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Derby’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city207 ac
Other state land65 ac
Not recorded99 ac
Local Park · 207 acUnknown Easement · 62 acState Park · 51 acLocal Other or Unknown · 24 acState Other or Unknown · 14 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 60 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 12 of 20 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Witek Memorial Park Local Park | Town or city | 139 | Open |
| Derby Greenway Local Park | Town or city | 65 | Open |
| Osbornedale State Park State Park | Not recorded | 48 | Unknown |
| Unknown Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 43 | Unknown |
| O'Sullivans Island Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 6 | Unknown |
| Pink House Cove Ice Fishing State Park | Other state land | 3 | Open |
| Duck Island State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 2 | Unknown |
| Town Green Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Founders Common Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
| Derby Dam Fishing Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
5 places to go in Derby
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Derby
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in Derby
3 boat launches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Scenic views in Derby
1 scenic view without a name on the map.
Trails & water
6 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
5.2 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
2.0 mi
off-road bike paths
3.2 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
5Baseball
3Soccer
2Tennis
1Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →6 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 3 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Sterling Opera HouseBuilding · listed 1968
About itWood, Harcourt, Memorial LibraryBuilding · listed 1982
About itOsbornedaleBuilding · listed 1986
About itKraus Corset FactoryBuilding · listed 1987
About itJohn I. Howe HouseBuilding · listed 1989
About itBirmingham Green Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2000
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Derby: April to 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) | 9.5 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.5 | 15.1 | 14.9 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.2 |
| High (°F) | 38 | 40 | 48 | 60 | 70 | 79 | 84 | 82 | 75 | 64 | 52 | 42 |
| Rain (in) | 3.6 | 3.2 | 4.3 | 4.4 | 4.0 | 4.4 | 3.9 | 3.8 | 4.6 | 4.8 | 3.9 | 4.4 |
February is the driest month (3.2 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 4.8 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Derby →
Next door
Derby and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Derby | 11% | 2.4 | 22 | 84% | A |
| Ansonia | 11% | 2.5 | 14 | 97% | A |
| Orange | 11% | 1.8 | 15 | 44% | B+ |
| Shelton | 21% | 1.5 | 14 | 56% | A− |
| Seymour | 11% | 1.3 | 6 | 53% | B+ |
| Woodbridge | 10% | 2.9 | 1 | 15% | B− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Derby
Where can I hike in Derby?
The longest trail networks: Osbornedale State Park, 6.7 miles; Witek Park, 2.3 miles; Fountain Lake, 0.7 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Derby is conserved land?
11% of its land, against a typical 15% for a Connecticut town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Derby’s trails?
Osbornedale State Park and Witek Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Derby?
5.2 miles of bike routes are on the map: 2.0 of off-road paths and 3.2 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Derby?
9,457 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Derby or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 278 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Derby have?
Ahead of 90% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #38 of 155 in Connecticut. 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 Derby 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 →