Knox Farm State Park
Managed by New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation
568 acres7.1 mi of trail
Outer LoopButterfly TrailBackyard TrailLibrary Trail+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto Horse TrailersWebsite ↗
Photo: Manda.L.Isch · Public domainA−Outdoors
Outdoors in Aurora
Aurora has 1,471 acres of parks, 106 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Knox Farm State Park (7.1 mi), Emery County Park (2.1 mi), Majors Park (1.3 mi). 7% of Aurora’s land is conserved, about 1,649 acres. 18 miles of mapped trail cross Aurora, 0.5 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 80% of U.S. towns · #228 of 758 in New York. What drives it
Conserved land
7%
1,649 acres · of 36.4 sq mi of land
Trails
18 mi
0.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,471 ac
106 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
71%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.1 mi
1.1 mi lanes
Lakes & rivers
3
What kind of outdoors town is Aurora?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Aurora have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Aurora is ahead of 80% of U.S. towns, #228 of 758 in New York. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; park acres per resident rank highest, the share of residents near a park lowest.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Aurora’s overall grade.
Conserved land7% of the land · typical NY town 5% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (18 mi) · NY 0.4 · U.S. 0.4BPark land106 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,471 acres) · NY 31 · U.S. 13AParks close to home71% of residents within a half mile of a park · NY 70% · U.S. 72%B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 80%
LessMore
New York towns of 2,500+ (758)Ahead of 70%
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 Knox Farm State Park, with 7.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Majors Park
Managed by Town of Aurora
168 acres1.3 mi of trail
Major's Park Boardwalk
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
All 7 parks & preserves
Knox Farm State Park568 acres · 7.1 mi of trail · New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation
DirectionsEmery County Park345 acres · 2.1 mi of trail
DirectionsMajors Park168 acres · 1.3 mi of trail · Town of Aurora
DirectionsHamlin Park17 acres · 1 mi of trail
DirectionsWest Falls JP Nicely Park65 acres
DirectionsAurora Pool Park6 acres
Warren Dr. Park4 acres
Who protects it
1,649 conserved acres
7% of Aurora’s land. Who manages Aurora’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State parks578 ac
County450 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits274 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government247 ac
Town or city138 ac
Local Park · 814 acState Park · 578 acOther Easement · 158 acConservation Easement · 117 acLocal Conservation Area · 16 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 274 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 4 of 17 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Knox Farm State Park State Park | State parks | 578 | Open |
| County Of Erie Land Local Park | County | 450 | Unknown |
| Majors Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 158 | Open |
| Town Of Aurora Land Local Park | Town or city | 99 | Unknown |
| Village of East Aurora Land Local Park | Town or city | 39 | Unknown |
| Sinking Pond Wildlife Sanctuary Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 34 | Open |
| Hamlin Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 18 | Open |
| Old Baldy Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 17 | Open |
| Unknown Park Local Conservation Area | Other or Unknown Local Government | 16 | Open |
| Unknown Field Local Recreation Area | Other or Unknown Local Government | 4 | Open |
Things to do
8 places to go in Aurora
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Aurora
Hamlin Park PlaygroundIn Hamlin Park
DirectionsPlus 5 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Waterfalls in Aurora
1 waterfall without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Community gardens in Aurora
Aurora Community GardensIn Majors Park
DirectionsTrails & water
8 named trails and 3 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 0.8 miHorses · 5.7 miUnpaved · 2.7 mi
Outer Loop2.8 mi
Butterfly Trail0.9 mi
Backyard Trail0.8 mi
Library Trail0.7 mi
Lower Pond0.6 mi
Creek Trail0.5 mi
Major's Park Boardwalk0.3 mi
Outer/Butterfly0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
1.1 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.1 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
Courts & fields
18Tennis
14Baseball
6Pickleball
3Multi-sport
2Tracks
1Football
1Soccer
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →7 places on the National Register, 2 of them National Historic Landmarks
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 5 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The best walking months in Aurora: 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) | 9.4 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.6 | 15.3 | 15.0 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 32 | 34 | 43 | 56 | 68 | 76 | 80 | 79 | 73 | 60 | 48 | 37 |
| Rain (in) | 3.5 | 2.4 | 2.9 | 3.6 | 3.5 | 3.9 | 4.1 | 3.6 | 4.1 | 4.1 | 3.7 | 3.8 |
February is the driest month (2.4 in) and July the warmest (highs of 80 °F). 4.1 inches fall in September, the wettest month. The climate in Aurora →
Next door
Aurora 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aurora | 7% | 0.5 | 106 | 71% | A− |
| Wales | 5% | 0.6 | 281 | 16% | B+ |
| Elma | 5% | 0.6 | 41 | 37% | B |
| Orchard Park | 6% | 0.6 | 63 | 88% | A− |
| Colden | 1% | 0.2 | 7 | 8% | C− |
| Billington Heights | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Aurora
Where can I hike in Aurora?
The longest trail networks: Knox Farm State Park, 7.1 miles; Emery County Park, 2.1 miles; Majors Park, 1.3 miles; Hamlin Park, 1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Aurora is conserved land?
7% 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 Aurora’s trails?
Knox Farm State Park and Emery County Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Aurora?
1.1 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.1 of painted or protected lanes.
Is there public land near Aurora?
11,017 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Aurora or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,588 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Aurora have?
Ahead of 80% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #228 of 758 in New York. 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 Aurora 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 →