French Creek Wildlife Management Area
Nature preserve
33 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Photo: Smerdis · CC BY-SA 4.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Clayton
7% of Clayton’s land is conserved, and 95% of residents live within a half mile of a park
7% of Clayton’s land is conserved, about 67 acres. 0.9 miles of mapped trail cross Clayton, 0.6 per square mile of land. 29 acres are parks and preserves, 18 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 79% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
7%
67 acres · of 1.6 sq mi of land
Trails
0.9 mi
0.6 per sq mi of land
Park land
29 ac
18 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
95%
of residents within ½ mile
What kind of outdoors town is Clayton?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Clayton have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Clayton is ahead of 79% of U.S. towns. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of residents near a park ranks highest, park acres per resident lowest.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Clayton’s overall grade.
Conserved land7% of the land · typical NY town 5% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.6 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · NY 0.4 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land18 acres of park per 1,000 residents (29 acres) · NY 31 · U.S. 13BParks close to home95% of residents within a half mile of a park · NY 70% · U.S. 72%A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 79%
LessMore
Water is 38% of Clayton’s area (1 of 3 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 4%.
NoteFew parks or trails are mapped in Clayton. OpenStreetMap is mapped by volunteers and coverage varies from town to town, so a town with unmapped parks scores low on them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ to A−. 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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
67 conserved acres
7% of Clayton’s land. Water is left out: Clayton has 1.6 square miles of land and 1.0 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Clayton’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State conservation34 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government28 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits4 ac
Town or city1 ac
State Resource Management Area · 34 acLocal Park · 28 acPrivate Conservation · 4 acLocal Resource Management Area · 1 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| French Creek Wma State Resource Management Area | State conservation | 34 | Open |
| Gordon D Cerow Recreation Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 27 | Open |
| Thousand Islands Land Trust Land Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 4 | Closed |
| Clayton Village of Land Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Unknown |
| Clayton Village Lands Local Resource Management Area | Other or Unknown Local Government | 1 | Open |
Things to do
7 places to go in Clayton
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Clayton
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Clayton
5 boat launches without a name on the map.
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
7Baseball
2Tennis
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Clayton: 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) | 9.2 | 10.4 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.8 | 15.5 | 15.2 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.5 | 8.9 |
| High (°F) | 28 | 31 | 40 | 53 | 66 | 75 | 80 | 78 | 71 | 58 | 46 | 34 |
| Rain (in) | 3.2 | 2.4 | 2.6 | 3.3 | 3.2 | 3.5 | 3.1 | 3.5 | 3.7 | 4.2 | 3.5 | 3.3 |
February is the driest month (2.4 in) and July the warmest (highs of 80 °F). 4.2 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Clayton →
Questions about parks and trails in Clayton
How much of Clayton 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 Clayton’s trails?
French Creek Wildlife Management Area doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Clayton?
10,753 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Clayton or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 63 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Clayton have?
Ahead of 79% 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 Clayton 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 →