Genesee County Park and Forest
Managed by Genesee County
439 acres12 mi of trail
Boundary TrailFire BreakCreek TrailPlantation Trail+1
Dogs on leash
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
BOutdoors
Outdoors in Bethany
Bethany has 550 acres of parks, 314 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Genesee County Park and Forest (12 mi), Groveland Secondary Trailway (5.9 mi). 11% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 18 miles of mapped trail cross Bethany, 0.5 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 55% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
2%
529 acres · of 36.1 sq mi of land
Trails
18 mi
0.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
550 ac
314 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
11%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
1,411 ft
Burks Hill
What kind of outdoors town is Bethany?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Bethany have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Bethany is ahead of 55% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Bethany’s overall grade.
Conserved land2% of the land · typical NY town 5% · U.S. 4%C+Trails0.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (18 mi) · NY 0.4 · U.S. 0.4BPark land314 acres of park per 1,000 residents (550 acres) · NY 31 · U.S. 13AParks close to home11% 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 55%
LessMore
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to B+. 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 Genesee County Park and Forest, with 12 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Groveland Secondary Trailway
Park
98 acres5.9 mi of trail
Groveland Secondary Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Who protects it
529 conserved acres
2% of Bethany’s land. Who manages Bethany’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County425 ac
State conservation104 ac
Local Park · 425 acState Recreation Area · 104 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 2 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Genesee County Park Land Local Park | County | 425 | Unknown |
| Groveland Secondary Trailway State Recreation Area | State conservation | 104 | Open |
Things to do
2 places to go in Bethany
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Peaks in Bethany
Burks Hill1,411 ft elevation
DirectionsScarff Hill1,391 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
22 named trails
Named trails
Unpaved · 8.7 mi
Groveland Secondary Trail6.1 mi
Boundary Trail1.8 mi
Fire Break1.4 mi
Creek Trail0.7 mi
Plantation Trail0.5 mi
General Conservation Trail0.4 mi
Deathrow Trail0.4 mi
Forestry Trail0.4 mi
B-C Connector Trail0.3 mi
High Road Trail0.2 mi
12 more trails
Wetland Trail
0.2 miToboggan Hill Number 1 Trail
0.2 miDike Pond Trail
0.2 miLow Road Trail
0.2 miForestry Trail/General Conservation Trail
0.2 miDeer Run Trail
0.2 miWildlife Trail
0.2 miTurtle Pond Trail
0.2 miWildlife Trail/General Conservation Trail
0.2 miNorway Spruce Trail
0.1 miTower Hill Trail
0.1 miB-D Connector Trail
0.1 miBiking & sports
0.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Courts & fields
1Beach volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Bethany: May and July 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 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.6 | 15.3 | 15.0 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.7 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 31 | 33 | 42 | 55 | 68 | 76 | 80 | 78 | 72 | 60 | 47 | 36 |
| Rain (in) | 2.4 | 1.9 | 2.4 | 3.1 | 3.3 | 3.7 | 3.5 | 3.7 | 3.5 | 3.8 | 2.9 | 2.5 |
February is the driest month (1.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 80 °F). 3.8 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Bethany →
Next door
Bethany and its neighbors
Bethany 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bethany | 2% | 0.5 | 314 | 11% | B |
| Stafford | 1% | 0.1 | 53 | 15% | C |
| Middlebury | 11% | 0.7 | 6 | 34% | B− |
| Alexander | under 1% | 0.2 | 37 | 28% | C |
| Batavia | 1% | under 0.1 | 19 | 10% | C− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Bethany
Where can I hike in Bethany?
The longest trail networks: Genesee County Park and Forest, 12 miles; Groveland Secondary Trailway, 5.9 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Bethany is conserved land?
2% 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 Bethany’s trails?
OpenStreetMap records dogs as welcome at Genesee County Park and Forest (on leash). For the rest, check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Bethany?
5,703 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Bethany or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 550 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Bethany have?
Ahead of 55% 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 Bethany 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 →