Lakeside Beach State Park
Managed by New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation
514 acres6.9 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: Ron Shawley · CC BY 3.0B−Outdoors
Outdoors in Carlton
Carlton has 842 acres of parks, 300 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Lakeside Beach State Park (6.9 mi). 22% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 9.0 miles of mapped trail cross Carlton, 0.2 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 52% of U.S. towns · #535 of 758 in New York. What drives it
Conserved land
3%
859 acres · of 43.6 sq mi of land
Trails
9.0 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
842 ac
300 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
22%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
5
3 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Carlton?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Carlton have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Carlton is ahead of 52% of U.S. towns, #535 of 758 in New York. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Carlton’s overall grade.
Conserved land3% of the land · typical NY town 5% · U.S. 4%B−Trails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (9 mi) · NY 0.4 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land300 acres of park per 1,000 residents (842 acres) · NY 31 · U.S. 13AParks close to home22% 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 52%
LessMore
New York towns of 2,500+ (758)Ahead of 29%
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 Lakeside Beach State Park, with 6.9 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
859 conserved acres
3% of Carlton’s land. Who manages Carlton’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State parks777 ac
Town or city42 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)27 ac
County13 ac
State Park · 695 acState Recreation Area · 82 acLocal Park · 55 acConservation Easement · 27 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 27 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 5 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lakeside Beach State Park State Park | State parks | 695 | Open |
| Oak Orchard Marine Park State Recreation Area | State parks | 82 | Open |
| Town Of Carlton Land Local Park | Town or city | 42 | Unknown |
| Orleans County Marine Park Local Park | County | 13 | Open |
Things to do
9 places to go in Carlton
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Carlton
5 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Carlton
3 boat launches without a name on the map.
Campgrounds in Carlton
Lakeside Beach State Park CampgroundIn Lakeside Beach State Park
DirectionsTrails & water
5 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
When to get out
The best walking months in Carlton: May 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) | 9.3 | 10.4 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.7 | 15.4 | 15.1 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 32 | 34 | 41 | 52 | 65 | 74 | 79 | 78 | 71 | 59 | 48 | 38 |
| Rain (in) | 2.3 | 2.0 | 2.3 | 3.0 | 3.1 | 3.1 | 3.2 | 3.0 | 3.2 | 3.3 | 2.7 | 2.6 |
February is the driest month (2.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 79 °F). 3.3 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Carlton →
Next door
Carlton and its neighbors
Carlton has the most mapped trails of the 4 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Questions about parks and trails in Carlton
Where can I hike in Carlton?
The longest trail networks: Lakeside Beach State Park, 6.9 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Carlton is conserved land?
3% 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 Carlton’s trails?
Lakeside Beach State Park doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Carlton?
3,371 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Carlton or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 842 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Carlton have?
Ahead of 52% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #535 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 Carlton 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 →