Happy Valley Wildlife Management Area
Nature preserve
4,281 acres9.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Albion
Albion has 1,017 acres of parks, 535 for every 1,000 residents
26% of Albion’s land is conserved, about 7,794 acres. The biggest trail networks: Happy Valley Wildlife Management Area (9.1 mi). 44% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 81% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
26%
7,794 acres · of 47.3 sq mi of land
Trails
16 mi
0.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,017 ac
535 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
44%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
3
What kind of outdoors town is Albion?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Albion have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Albion is ahead of 81% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Albion’s overall grade.
Conserved land26% of the land · typical NY town 5% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (16 mi) · NY 0.4 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land535 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,017 acres) · NY 31 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home44% of residents within a half mile of a park · NY 70% · U.S. 72%C+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 81%
LessMore
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ 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 Happy Valley WMA, with 9.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Salmon River Fish Hatchery
Nature preserve
503 acres0.3 mi of trail
Smokey Road Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Lower Salmon River State Forest
Managed by New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
1,118 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto Salmon River Fishing Access
Altmar State Forest
Managed by New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
913 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Who protects it
7,794 conserved acres
26% of Albion’s land. Who manages Albion’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State conservation7,641 ac
County783 ac
Town or city27 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)20 ac
Private owners1 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits1 ac
State Resource Management Area · 4,327 acState Conservation Area · 2,104 acLocal Conservation Area · 689 acUnknown Easement · 597 acState Other or Unknown · 503 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 125 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 6 of 19 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Happy Valley Wma State Resource Management Area | State conservation | 4,291 | Open |
| Lower Salmon River State Forest State Conservation Area | State conservation | 1,153 | Restricted |
| Altmar State Forest State Conservation Area | State conservation | 921 | Open |
| Oswego County Lands Local Conservation Area | County | 689 | Restricted |
| Salmon River Fish Hatchery State Other or Unknown | State conservation | 503 | Restricted |
| County Forest Local Park | County | 65 | Open |
| Fishing Access State Resource Management Area | State conservation | 36 | Open |
| Salmon River Fishing Access State Recreation Area | State conservation | 30 | Open |
| Add Salmon River Corridor State Conservation Area | State conservation | 30 | Restricted |
| County Of Oswego Land Local Park | County | 28 | Unknown |
3 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Trails & water
3 named trails and 3 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 10.2 mi
Thunder_Barclay_Kasog Park Trail2.1 mi
Barclay Kasog Trail0.8 mi
Smokey Road Trail0.3 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
When to get out
The best walking months in Albion: May 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) | 9.3 | 10.4 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.7 | 15.4 | 15.1 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 29 | 31 | 40 | 54 | 67 | 75 | 80 | 78 | 72 | 59 | 46 | 35 |
| Rain (in) | 4.0 | 3.2 | 3.2 | 3.8 | 3.9 | 4.2 | 3.9 | 3.7 | 4.2 | 5.0 | 4.4 | 4.6 |
February is the driest month (3.2 in) and July the warmest (highs of 80 °F). 5.0 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Albion →
Next door
Albion and its neighbors
Albion has the second most mapped trails of the 5 towns around it. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albion | 26% | 0.3 | 535 | 44% | A− |
| Richland | 9% | 0.3 | 230 | 58% | A− |
| Williamstown | 18% | 0.4 | 1,166 | 53% | A− |
| Parish | 12% | 0.2 | 12 | 20% | B− |
| Orwell | 23% | 0.4 | 5,958 | 58% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Albion
Where can I hike in Albion?
The longest trail networks: Happy Valley Wildlife Management Area, 9.1 miles; Salmon River Fish Hatchery, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Albion is conserved land?
26% of its land, against a typical 5% for a New York town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Albion’s trails?
Happy Valley Wildlife Management Area and Salmon River Fish Hatchery don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Albion?
45,267 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Albion or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 5,354 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Albion have?
Ahead of 81% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade. 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 Albion 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 →