Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.010% of Buffalo’s land is conserved, and 98% of residents live within a half mile of a park
49 miles of mapped trail cross Buffalo, 1.2 per square mile of land. 10% of Buffalo’s land is conserved, about 2,631 acres. The biggest trail networks: Delaware Park (6.4 mi), Tifft Nature Preserve (5.7 mi), Martin Luther King, Jr. Park (4 mi).
Ahead of 84% of U.S. towns · #183 of 758 in New York. What drives it
What kind of outdoors town is Buffalo?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
How much outdoors does Buffalo have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Buffalo is ahead of 84% of U.S. towns, #183 of 758 in New York. Trail miles hold the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
Among the 400 U.S. cities of 100,000 or more, Buffalo ranks #144 on Outdoors.
Water is 23% of Buffalo’s area (12 of 52 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 8%.
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 Delaware Park, with 6.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Tifft Nature Preserve
Martin Luther King, Jr. Park
Red Jacket River Front Park
Riverside Park
Unity Island Park
All 114 parks & preserves
2,631 conserved acres
10% of Buffalo’s land. Water is left out: Buffalo has 40.4 square miles of land and 12.1 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Buffalo’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 11 of 167 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| City Of Buffalo Land Local Park | Town or city | 1,226 | Unknown |
| Delaware State Park | Town or city | 332 | Open |
| Tifft Farms Nature Preserve State Park | Town or city | 231 | Open |
| Outer State Harbor Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 207 | Open |
| Buffalo Harbor State Resource Management Area | Other state land | 201 | Open |
| Cazenovia State Park | Town or city | 191 | Open |
| Buffalo Harbor State Park State Park | State parks | 187 | Open |
| South Park Local Park | Town or city | 152 | Open |
| Grover Cleveland Golf Course Local Recreation Area | County | 112 | Open |
| Buffalo State Psychiatric Center State Resource Management Area | Other state land | 91 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
247 places to go in Buffalo
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Plus 2 beaches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
156 playgrounds are on OpenStreetMap in all; the list shows named ones from the first 30.
Plus 2 dog parks without a name on the map.
3 more boat launches
Plus 12 boat launches without a name on the map.
6 fishing spots without a name on the map.
1 waterfall without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
1 more scenic view
36 scenic views are on OpenStreetMap in all; the list shows named ones from the first 30.
8 picnic areas without a name on the map.
Plus 1 community garden without a name on the map.
21 named trails and 15 lakes & rivers
11 more trails
93 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.
205 places on the National Register, 8 of them National Historic Landmarks
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 85 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
193 more on the History page.
The best walking months in Buffalo: May to August
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 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 33 | 34 | 42 | 54 | 67 | 76 | 80 | 79 | 72 | 60 | 48 | 38 |
| Rain (in) | 3.0 | 2.2 | 2.7 | 3.4 | 3.3 | 3.4 | 3.6 | 3.3 | 3.9 | 3.8 | 3.3 | 3.4 |
February is the driest month (2.2 in) and July the warmest (highs of 80 °F). 3.9 inches fall in September, the wettest month. The climate in Buffalo →
Buffalo and its neighbors
Buffalo has the most mapped trails of the 8 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buffalo | 10% | 1.2 | 9 | 98% | A− |
| Cheektowaga | 5% | 0.5 | 11 | 96% | B+ |
| Eggertsville | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| West Seneca | 6% | 0.2 | 7 | 82% | B− |
| Amherst | 10% | 0.9 | 23 | 81% | A− |
| Lackawanna | 2% | 0.8 | 4 | 99%+ | B |
| Tonawanda | 6% | 0.3 | 11 | 86% | B |
| Tonawanda Town | — 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 Buffalo
Where can I hike in Buffalo?
The longest trail networks: Delaware Park, 6.4 miles; Tifft Nature Preserve, 5.7 miles; Martin Luther King, Jr. Park, 4 miles; Cazenovia Park, 2.9 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Buffalo is conserved land?
10% 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 Buffalo’s trails?
Delaware Park and Tifft Nature Preserve don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Buffalo?
93 miles of bike routes are on the map: 43 of painted or protected lanes, 27 of off-road paths and 23 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Buffalo?
18,376 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Buffalo or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 2,565 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Buffalo have?
Ahead of 84% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #183 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 Buffalo 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 →