Steege Hill Nature Preserve
Managed by Finger Lakes Land Trust
839 acres6.9 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Big Flats
Big Flats has 1,098 acres of parks, 145 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Steege Hill Nature Preserve (6.9 mi), Plymouth Woods Nature Preserve (1.6 mi), Big Flats Community Park (1.5 mi). 8% of Big Flats’ land is conserved, about 2,276 acres. 24 miles of mapped trail cross Big Flats, 0.5 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 84% of U.S. towns · #188 of 758 in New York. What drives it
Conserved land
8%
2,276 acres · of 44.5 sq mi of land
Trails
24 mi
0.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,098 ac
145 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
76%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
2.3 mi
2.3 mi paths
Highest peak
1,772 ft
Steege Hill
Lakes & rivers
5
3 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Big Flats?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Big Flats have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Big Flats is ahead of 84% of U.S. towns, #188 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 Big Flats’ overall grade.
Conserved land8% of the land · typical NY town 5% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (24 mi) · NY 0.4 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land145 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,098 acres) · NY 31 · U.S. 13AParks close to home76% 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 84%
LessMore
New York towns of 2,500+ (758)Ahead of 75%
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 Steege Hill Nature Preserve, with 6.9 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Plymouth Woods Nature Preserve
Managed by Finger Lakes Land Trust
89 acres1.6 mi of trail
Plymouth Woods Nature Preserve Trails
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Big Flats Community Park
Managed by Town of Big Flats
99 acres1.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Sperr Memorial Park
Park
74 acres1.4 mi of trail
Big Flats Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Whitney Park
Park
20 acres0.6 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Big Flats Wildlife Management Area
Managed by New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
127 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
All 11 parks & preserves
Steege Hill Nature Preserve839 acres · 6.9 mi of trail · Finger Lakes Land Trust
DirectionsPlymouth Woods Nature Preserve89 acres · 1.6 mi of trail · Finger Lakes Land Trust
DirectionsBig Flats Community Park99 acres · 1.5 mi of trail · Town of Big Flats
DirectionsSperr Memorial Park74 acres · 1.4 mi of trail
DirectionsWhitney Park20 acres · 0.6 mi of trail
Big Flats Wildlife Management Area127 acres · 0.3 mi of trail · New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
Tanglewood Nature Center24 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
Harris Hill Park26 acres
Hillview Park2 acres
Fawn Acres1 acres
Barnes Hill Park1 acres · Town of Big Flats
Who protects it
2,276 conserved acres
8% of Big Flats’ land. Who manages Big Flats’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits2,022 ac
County505 ac
Town or city335 ac
State conservation128 ac
Regional Water Districts58 ac
Private Conservation · 1,449 acLocal Park · 824 acLocal Conservation Area · 275 acConservation Easement · 250 acState Resource Management Area · 128 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 172 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 4 of 29 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steege Hill Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 802 | Closed |
| County Of Chemung Land Local Park | County | 335 | Unknown |
| Town Of Big Flats Land Local Park | Town or city | 295 | Unknown |
| Frenchmans Bluff Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 277 | Open |
| Frenchmans Bluff Preserve Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 276 | Open |
| Open Space Local Conservation Area | Land trusts & nonprofits | 275 | Open |
| Harris Hill Park Local Park | County | 146 | Open |
| Big Flats Wma State Resource Management Area | State conservation | 128 | Open |
| Plymouth Woods Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 94 | Closed |
| Elmira Water Board Land Local Other or Unknown | Regional Water Districts | 58 | Unknown |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
23 places to go in Big Flats
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Big Flats
12 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Big Flats
Bottchers Landing Boat Launch
DirectionsFitch's Bridge Boat Launch
DirectionsSenator William T. Smith Boat Launch
DirectionsScenic views in Big Flats
Harris Hill Scenic Overlook
DirectionsPlus 1 scenic view without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Peaks in Big Flats
Steege Hill1,772 ft elevation · In Steege Hill Nature Preserve
DirectionsHarris Hill1,752 ft elevation
DirectionsHawley Hill1,703 ft elevation
DirectionsLeach Hill1,637 ft elevation
DirectionsPicnic areas in Big Flats
2 picnic areas without a name on the map.
Trails & water
9 named trails and 5 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 9.6 mi
Twain Trail2.1 mi
Big Flats Trail1.7 mi
Plymouth Woods Nature Preserve Trails1.6 mi
Bluebird Trail1.3 mi
Tanglefoot Trail0.8 mi
Allyn Hoffman Tree Trail0.6 mi
Whitetail Trail0.5 mi
Presidents Trail0.4 mi
Childrens Sensory Trail0.2 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
2.3 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
2.3 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
13Baseball
6Soccer
3Basketball
2Volleyball
2Tennis
1Pickleball
1Beach volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →2 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 10 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The best walking months in Big Flats: May and July
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 | 15.2 | 15.0 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.1 |
| High (°F) | 33 | 36 | 44 | 58 | 70 | 78 | 82 | 81 | 74 | 61 | 48 | 38 |
| Rain (in) | 2.0 | 1.7 | 2.5 | 3.2 | 3.0 | 3.7 | 3.5 | 3.7 | 3.8 | 3.4 | 2.5 | 2.4 |
February is the driest month (1.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 3.8 inches fall in September, the wettest month. The climate in Big Flats →
Next door
Big Flats and its neighbors
Big Flats has the most mapped trails of the 7 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Big Flats | 8% | 0.5 | 145 | 76% | A− |
| Southport | under 1% | under 0.1 | 9 | 62% | C− |
| Corning | 1% | 0.1 | 10 | 43% | C |
| Horseheads | 3% | 0.4 | 28 | 85% | B+ |
| Catlin | 2% | under 0.1 | 252 | 39% | C+ |
| Elmira | 6% | 0.2 | 99 | 78% | B+ |
| West Elmira | — 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 Big Flats
Where can I hike in Big Flats?
The longest trail networks: Steege Hill Nature Preserve, 6.9 miles; Plymouth Woods Nature Preserve, 1.6 miles; Big Flats Community Park, 1.5 miles; Sperr Memorial Park, 1.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Big Flats is conserved land?
8% 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 Big Flats’ trails?
Steege Hill Nature Preserve and Plymouth Woods Nature Preserve don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Big Flats?
2.3 miles of bike routes are on the map: 2.3 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Big Flats?
18,448 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Big Flats or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,353 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Big Flats have?
Ahead of 84% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #188 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 Big Flats 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 →