Photo: Jguard18 · CC BY-SA 3.07% of Buchanan’s land is conserved, and 99% of residents live within a half mile of a park
107 acres are parks and preserves, 44 per 1,000 residents. 7% of Buchanan’s land is conserved, about 64 acres. 0.5 miles of mapped trail cross Buchanan, 0.4 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 84% of U.S. towns · #186 of 758 in New York. What drives it
What kind of outdoors town is Buchanan?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
How much outdoors does Buchanan have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Buchanan is ahead of 84% of U.S. towns, #186 of 758 in New York. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of residents near a park ranks highest, trail miles lowest.
Water is 19% of Buchanan’s area (0 of 2 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 6%.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Pick a walk
The longest trail network is Lents Cove Park, with 0.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
64 conserved acres
7% of Buchanan’s land. Water is left out: Buchanan has 1.4 square miles of land and 0.3 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Buchanan’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| TOWN OF CORTLANDT Land Local Park | Town or city | 28 | Open |
| VLG OF BUCHANAN Land Local Park | Town or city | 24 | Open |
| Village Park/Veteran'S Pavilion Local Park | Town or city | 14 | Open |
| Lents Cove Park Local Park | Town or city | 11 | Open |
1 named trail and 2 lakes & rivers
0.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
The best walking months in Buchanan: 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 | 14.5 | 15.1 | 14.9 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.2 |
| High (°F) | 38 | 40 | 49 | 62 | 72 | 81 | 86 | 84 | 76 | 65 | 53 | 42 |
| Rain (in) | 3.4 | 2.8 | 3.9 | 3.9 | 3.8 | 4.3 | 4.5 | 4.4 | 4.4 | 4.4 | 3.6 | 4.1 |
February is the driest month (2.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 86 °F). 4.5 inches fall in July, the wettest month. The climate in Buchanan →
Buchanan 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buchanan | 7% | 0.4 | 44 | 99% | A− |
| Cortlandt | 23% | 1.8 | 106 | 94% | A+ |
| Peekskill | 20% | 2.2 | 22 | 99%+ | A+ |
| Montrose | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Verplanck | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Stony Point | 68% | 2.9 | 804 | 98% | A+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Buchanan
Where can I hike in Buchanan?
The longest trail networks: Lents Cove Park, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Buchanan 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 Buchanan’s trails?
Lents Cove Park doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Buchanan?
68,555 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Buchanan or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 107 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Buchanan have?
Ahead of 84% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #186 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 Buchanan neighbors.
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 →