Harrison Williams Woods
Nature preserve
17 acres1.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto Harrison Williams Woods Parking
Photo: AITFFan1 · CC BY-SA 4.0A+Outdoors
Outdoors in Bayville
18% of Bayville’s land is conserved, and virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park. 3.0 miles of mapped trail cross Bayville, 2.1 per square mile of land. 18% of Bayville’s land is conserved, about 173 acres.
Ahead of 98% of U.S. towns · #40 of 758 in New York. What drives it
Conserved land
18%
173 acres · of 1.5 sq mi of land
Trails
3.0 mi
2.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
170 ac
25 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.9 mi
0.9 mi lanes
Highest peak
154 ft
Harrison Williams Woods Peak
Lakes & rivers
2
9 beaches · 4 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Bayville?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Bayville have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Bayville is ahead of 98% of U.S. towns, #40 of 758 in New York. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of residents near a park ranks highest, park acres per resident lowest.
A+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Bayville’s overall grade.
Conserved land18% of the land · typical NY town 5% · U.S. 4%ATrails2.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (3 mi) · NY 0.4 · U.S. 0.4APark land25 acres of park per 1,000 residents (170 acres) · NY 31 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to homeVirtually all residents within a half mile of a park · NY 70% · U.S. 72%A+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 98%
LessMore
New York towns of 2,500+ (758)Ahead of 95%
Water is 6% of Bayville’s area (0 of 2 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 18%.
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 Harrison Williams Woods, with 1.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Centre Island Beach Park
Park
19 acres0.3 mi of trail
Turtle Habitat
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Oyster Bay National Wildlife Refuge
Managed by United States Fish and Wildlife Service
111 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Mill Neck Preserve
Managed by Nassau County
58 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 9 parks & preserves
Harrison Williams Woods17 acres · 1.1 mi of trail
DirectionsCentre Island Beach Park19 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsSgt. Paul Tuozzolo Memorial Park12 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsOyster Bay National Wildlife Refuge111 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · United States Fish and Wildlife Service
DirectionsBayville Preserve7 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsBayville Adventure Park2 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsMill Neck Preserve58 acres · Nassau County
DirectionsSoundside Beach2 acres
DirectionsCreek Beach1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
173 conserved acres
18% of Bayville’s land. Water is left out: Bayville has 1.5 square miles of land and 0.1 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Bayville’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Other or Unknown Local Government78 ac
Town or city58 ac
County49 ac
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service26 ac
Local Park · 136 acLocal Recreation Area · 49 acNational Wildlife Refuge · 26 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 7 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Centre Island Beach Village Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 78 | Open |
| Mill Neck County Preserve Local Recreation Area | County | 49 | Open |
| TOWN OF OYSTER BAY Land Local Park | Town or city | 28 | Unknown |
| Harrison Williams Woods Local Park | Town or city | 25 | Open |
| Congressman Lester Wolff Oyster Bay National Wildlife Refuge National Wildlife Refuge | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 13 | Restricted |
| Oyster Bay National Wildlife Refuge National Wildlife Refuge | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 13 | Restricted |
| Southside Beach Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
Things to do
25 places to go in Bayville
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Bayville
Centre Island Beach
DirectionsCentre Island Beach
DirectionsCharles E. Ransom Beach
DirectionsFerry Beach
DirectionsOak Neck BeachIn Oyster Bay National Wildlife Refuge
DirectionsSoundside Beach
DirectionsWest Harbor BeachIn Sgt. Paul Tuozzolo Memorial Park
DirectionsPlus 2 beaches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Playgrounds in Bayville
Charles E. Ransom Beach Playground
DirectionsSoundside Beach PlaygroundIn Soundside Beach
DirectionsSt. Gertrude's Parish Center Playground
DirectionsWest Harbor Beach PlaygroundIn Sgt. Paul Tuozzolo Memorial Park
DirectionsPlus 2 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Dog parks in Bayville
Centre Island Beach Dog ParkIn Centre Island Beach Park
DirectionsBoat launches in Bayville
4 boat launches without a name on the map.
Peaks in Bayville
Harrison Williams Woods Peak154 ft elevation · In Harrison Williams Woods
DirectionsPicnic areas in Bayville
2 picnic areas without a name on the map.
Community gardens in Bayville
Bayville Community Garden
DirectionsPine Lane Association Community GardenPine Lane Association
DirectionsTrails & water
2 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 1.8 mi
The Boulevard0.3 mi
Turtle Habitat0.2 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.9 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.9 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
Courts & fields
7Basketball
6Baseball
5Pickleball
3Tennis
1Soccer
1Beach volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Bayville: 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 | 14.4 | 15.1 | 14.8 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.2 |
| High (°F) | 40 | 42 | 49 | 60 | 70 | 79 | 85 | 83 | 76 | 65 | 54 | 45 |
| Rain (in) | 3.4 | 2.8 | 4.1 | 4.0 | 3.6 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.1 | 4.4 | 4.3 | 3.4 | 4.2 |
February is the driest month (2.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 85 °F). 4.4 inches fall in September, the wettest month. The climate in Bayville →
Next door
Bayville and its neighbors
Bayville has the most mapped trails of the 2 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bayville | 18% | 2.1 | 25 | 99%+ | A+ |
| Centre Island | — 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 Bayville
Where can I hike in Bayville?
The longest trail networks: Harrison Williams Woods, 1.1 miles; Centre Island Beach Park, 0.3 miles; Oyster Bay National Wildlife Refuge, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Bayville is conserved land?
18% 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 Bayville’s trails?
Harrison Williams Woods and Centre Island Beach Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Bayville?
0.9 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.9 of painted or protected lanes.
Is there public land near Bayville?
14,438 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Bayville or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 170 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Bayville have?
Ahead of 98% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #40 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 Bayville 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 →