Stid Hill Multiple Use Area
Managed by New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
746 acres9.7 mi of trail
North LoopLower BlueBlue TrailSwitchback+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
COutdoors
Outdoors in Bristol
Bristol has 13 miles of mapped trails, 0.4 for every square mile of land
The biggest trail networks: Stid Hill Multiple Use Area (9.7 mi). 4% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 10 acres are parks and preserves, 4.8 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 30% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
4%
989 acres · of 36.6 sq mi of land
Trails
13 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
10 ac
4.8 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
4%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
1,168 ft
Baptist Hill
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Bristol have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Bristol is ahead of 30% of U.S. towns. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
C
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Bristol’s overall grade.
Conserved land4% of the land · typical NY town 5% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (13 mi) · NY 0.4 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land4.8 acres of park per 1,000 residents (10 acres) · NY 31 · U.S. 13CParks close to home4% of residents within a half mile of a park · NY 70% · U.S. 72%D
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 30%
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 Stid Hill Multiple Use Area, with 9.7 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
989 conserved acres
4% of Bristol’s land. Who manages Bristol’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State conservation749 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits199 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)31 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government10 ac
State Resource Management Area · 749 acUnknown Easement · 199 acConservation Easement · 31 acLocal Park · 10 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 230 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stid Hill Mua State Resource Management Area | State conservation | 749 | Open |
| Bristol Town Lands Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 10 | Open |
Things to do
1 places to go in Bristol
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Peaks in Bristol
Baptist Hill1,168 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
8 named trails
Named trails
Open to bikes · 9.7 miUnpaved · 0.5 mi
North Loop1.9 mi
Lower Blue1.4 mi
Blue Trail1.2 mi
Switchback0.8 mi
Old Logger0.6 mi
Midway0.5 mi
North Loop Connector West0.4 mi
Pump Trail0.1 mi
Biking & 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
2Tennis
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Bristol Center Methodist Episcopal ChurchBuilding · listed 2022
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Bristol: May and 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) | 31 | 33 | 42 | 55 | 68 | 75 | 79 | 78 | 71 | 59 | 47 | 36 |
| Rain (in) | 2.3 | 1.9 | 2.6 | 3.0 | 3.4 | 3.9 | 4.2 | 3.7 | 3.5 | 3.7 | 2.8 | 2.6 |
February is the driest month (1.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 79 °F). 4.2 inches fall in July, the wettest month. The climate in Bristol →
Next door
Bristol 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bristol | 4% | 0.4 | 5 | 4% | C |
| Canandaigua | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| East Bloomfield | 2% | 0.2 | 102 | 31% | B− |
| Richmond | 14% | 0.4 | 51 | 47% | B+ |
| South Bristol | 9% | 1.2 | 252 | 14% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Bristol
Where can I hike in Bristol?
The longest trail networks: Stid Hill Multiple Use Area, 9.7 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Bristol is conserved land?
4% 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 Bristol’s trails?
Stid Hill Multiple Use Area doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Bristol?
22,123 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Bristol or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 764 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Bristol have?
Ahead of 30% 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 Bristol 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 →