Houghton Land Preserve
Nature preserve
189 acres2 mi of trail
Houghton Land Preserve Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Pete716 · CC BY-SA 4.0COutdoors
Outdoors in Corning
Corning has 59 acres of parks, 10 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Houghton Land Preserve (2 mi). 1% of Corning’s land is conserved, about 328 acres. 5.2 miles of mapped trail cross Corning, 0.1 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 30% of U.S. towns · #690 of 758 in New York. What drives it
Conserved land
1%
328 acres · of 36.9 sq mi of land
Trails
5.2 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
59 ac
10 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
43%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
2.9 mi
0.5 mi paths
Highest peak
1,903 ft
Quackenbush Hill
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Corning have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Corning is ahead of 30% of U.S. towns, #690 of 758 in New York. All four inputs are below most U.S. towns; park acres per resident come closest.
C
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Corning’s overall grade.
Conserved land1% of the land · typical NY town 5% · U.S. 4%C+Trails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (5 mi) · NY 0.4 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land10 acres of park per 1,000 residents (59 acres) · NY 31 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to home43% 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 30%
LessMore
New York towns of 2,500+ (758)Ahead of 9%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would still be C. 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 Houghton Land Preserve, with 2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Spencer Crest Nature Center
Nature preserve
166 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Denison Park
Park
1 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
328 conserved acres
1% of Corning’s land. Who manages Corning’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits272 ac
Town or city67 ac
Private Other or Unknown · 272 acLocal Park · 56 acLocal Recreation Area · 12 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 4 of 8 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seven Lakes Girl Scout Council Lands Private Other or Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 271 | Closed |
| Town of Corning Land Local Park | Town or city | 32 | Unknown |
| Village of South Corning Land Local Park | Town or city | 12 | Unknown |
| Park Avenue Sports Center Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 12 | Open |
| Village of Riverside Land Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Unknown |
| City of Corning Land Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Unknown |
| Edward P Hanshaw Memorial Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Pinewood Recreation Association Lands Private Other or Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 1 | Closed |
Things to do
8 places to go in Corning
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Corning
4 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Peaks in Corning
Quackenbush Hill1,903 ft elevation
DirectionsRose Hill1,788 ft elevation
DirectionsSpencer Hill1,752 ft elevation
DirectionsDenmark Hill1,726 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
1 named trail
Named trails
Unpaved · 2.3 mi
Houghton Land Preserve Trail2.2 mi
Biking & sports
2.9 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.5 mi
off-road bike paths
2.4 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
4Baseball
2Tennis
1Soccer
1Golf
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Corning: May and July
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) | 9.4 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.6 | 15.2 | 15.0 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.1 |
| High (°F) | 32 | 35 | 44 | 57 | 69 | 78 | 81 | 80 | 73 | 61 | 48 | 37 |
| Rain (in) | 2.0 | 1.7 | 2.5 | 3.2 | 3.1 | 3.7 | 3.6 | 3.6 | 3.9 | 3.4 | 2.5 | 2.4 |
February is the driest month (1.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 81 °F). 3.9 inches fall in September, the wettest month. The climate in Corning →
Next door
Corning 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Corning | 1% | 0.1 | 10 | 43% | C |
| Erwin | 18% | 0.9 | 246 | 71% | A |
| Big Flats | 8% | 0.5 | 145 | 76% | A− |
| Hornby | 13% | 0.4 | 1,850 | 31% | B+ |
| Painted Post | 4% | 0.4 | 20 | 99%+ | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Corning
Where can I hike in Corning?
The longest trail networks: Houghton Land Preserve, 2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Corning is conserved land?
1% 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 Corning’s trails?
Houghton Land Preserve and Spencer Crest Nature Center don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Corning?
2.9 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.5 of off-road paths and 2.4 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Corning?
24,086 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Corning or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 59 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Corning have?
Ahead of 30% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #690 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 Corning 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 →