Upper And Lower Lakes Wildlife Management Area
Nature preserve
8,557 acres1.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Photo: Unknown authorUnknown author or not provided · Public domainB−Outdoors
Outdoors in Canton
14% of Canton’s land is conserved: 9,234 acres
The biggest trail networks: Upper And Lower Lakes Wildlife Management Area (1.4 mi). 58 acres are parks and preserves, 5.0 per 1,000 residents. 53% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 49% of U.S. towns · #552 of 758 in New York. What drives it
Conserved land
14%
9,234 acres · of 104.7 sq mi of land
Trails
24 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
58 ac
5.0 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
53%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
4
1 beach · 2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Canton?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Canton have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Canton is ahead of 49% of U.S. towns, #552 of 758 in New York. Conserved land holds the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
B−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Canton’s overall grade.
Conserved land14% of the land · typical NY town 5% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (24 mi) · NY 0.4 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land5.0 acres of park per 1,000 residents (58 acres) · NY 31 · U.S. 13CParks close to home53% 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 49%
LessMore
New York towns of 2,500+ (758)Ahead of 27%
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 Upper And Lower Lakes WMA, with 1.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Bend in the River Park
Park
12 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Taylor Park
Park
9 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 8 parks & preserves
Upper And Lower Lakes Wildlife Management Area8,557 acres · 1.4 mi of trail
Grasse River Heritage Park4 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsCanton Park and Farmer's Market3 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsBend in the River Park12 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Taylor Park9 acres
Willow Island Park7 acres
DirectionsIntramural Field2 acres
DirectionsDSS Picnic & Visitation Area1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
9,234 conserved acres
14% of Canton’s land. Who manages Canton’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State conservation8,602 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)582 ac
Town or city58 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government5 ac
Private owners3 ac
State Resource Management Area · 8,602 acConservation Easement · 582 acLocal Park · 53 acLocal Recreation Area · 13 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 582 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 2 of 19 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Upper And Lower Lakes Wma State Resource Management Area | State conservation | 8,602 | Open |
| Village Of Canton Land Local Park | Town or city | 21 | Unknown |
| Bend In River Park Local Park | Town or city | 17 | Open |
| Taylor Park Community Beach Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 13 | Open |
| Monsignor Billmeyer Playground Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 5 | Open |
| Willow Island Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Canton Village Green Local Park | Private owners | 3 | Open |
| Buck St Playground Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Town & Village Of Canton Land Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Unknown |
| Unknown Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
13 places to go in Canton
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Canton
Taylor Park BeachIn Taylor Park
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Canton
Imagine Nation Park
DirectionsTaylor Park PlaygroundIn Taylor Park
DirectionsPlus 2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Canton
2 boat launches without a name on the map.
Waterfalls in Canton
4 waterfalls without a name on the map.
Picnic areas in Canton
2 picnic areas without a name on the map.
Trails & water
5 named trails and 4 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 0.7 miUnpaved · 6.8 mi
Kip Trail1.4 mi
Saddlemire Trail1.2 mi
Susan Ferguson Trail1.1 mi
Avenue of the Elms0.6 mi
Dean Eaton0.2 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
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
12Baseball
9Tennis
7Soccer
4Basketball
4Pickleball
3Tracks
2Football
2Multi-sport
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →10 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 11 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Herring-Cole Hall, St. Lawrence UniversityBuilding · listed 1974
About itRichardson Hall, St. Lawrence UniversityBuilding · listed 1974
About itVillage Park Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1975
About itHarrison Grist MillBuilding · listed 1982
About itSt. Lawrence University-Old Campus Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1983
About itUS Post Office-CantonBuilding · listed 1988
About itTrinity Episcopal ChapelBuilding · listed 1990
About itCongregational ChurchBuilding · listed 2005
About itBrick Chapel Church and CemeteryBuilding · listed 2005
About itSt. Lawrence County Government ComplexDistrict · listed 2024
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Canton: May and 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) | 9.2 | 10.4 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.8 | 15.5 | 15.2 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.5 | 8.8 |
| High (°F) | 26 | 30 | 39 | 54 | 67 | 76 | 80 | 79 | 71 | 58 | 45 | 33 |
| Rain (in) | 2.7 | 2.2 | 2.5 | 3.2 | 3.2 | 3.8 | 3.8 | 3.4 | 4.0 | 4.2 | 3.1 | 3.0 |
February is the driest month (2.2 in) and July the warmest (highs of 80 °F). 4.2 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Canton →
Next door
Canton and its neighbors
Canton has the second 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canton | 14% | 0.2 | 5 | 53% | B− |
| Russell | 10% | 0.4 | 2,647 | 30% | B+ |
| Lisbon | 3% | 0.1 | 193 | 11% | C+ |
| Potsdam | 2% | 0.2 | 50 | 67% | B |
| De Kalb | 2% | under 0.1 | 10 | 11% | C− |
| Oswegatchie | 2% | 0.1 | 82 | 8% | C+ |
| Pierrepont | 10% | 0.2 | 1,299 | 43% | B+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Canton
Where can I hike in Canton?
The longest trail networks: Upper And Lower Lakes Wildlife Management Area, 1.4 miles; Bend in the River Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Canton is conserved land?
14% 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 Canton’s trails?
Upper And Lower Lakes Wildlife Management Area and Bend in the River Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Canton?
28,627 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Canton or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 8,707 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Canton have?
Ahead of 49% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #552 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 Canton 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 →