Darien Lakes State Park
Managed by New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation
1,830 acres20.6 mi of trail
20-77Gas LineShotgun Ridge 1Conservation Trail+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trailheadWebsite ↗
B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Darien
Darien has 1,956 acres of parks, 655 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Darien Lakes State Park (20.6 mi). 6% of Darien’s land is conserved, about 1,967 acres. 26 miles of mapped trail cross Darien, 0.6 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 72% of U.S. towns · #327 of 758 in New York. What drives it
Conserved land
6%
1,967 acres · of 47.4 sq mi of land
Trails
26 mi
0.6 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,956 ac
655 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
29%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
7
What kind of outdoors town is Darien?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Darien have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Darien is ahead of 72% of U.S. towns, #327 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 Darien’s overall grade.
Conserved land6% of the land · typical NY town 5% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.6 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (26 mi) · NY 0.4 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land655 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,956 acres) · NY 31 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home29% 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 72%
LessMore
New York towns of 2,500+ (758)Ahead of 57%
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
The longest trail network is Darien Lakes State Park, with 20.6 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
1,967 conserved acres
6% of Darien’s land. Who manages Darien’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State parks1,832 ac
Town or city105 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)26 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government6 ac
State Park · 1,832 acLocal Park · 111 acConservation Easement · 26 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 26 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 2 of 6 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Darien Lakes State Park State Park | State parks | 1,832 | Open |
| Akron Village Of Water Land Local Park | Town or city | 103 | Unknown |
| Darien Town Lands Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 6 | Open |
| Akron Village Land Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Unknown |
Things to do
8 places to go in Darien
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Darien
3 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Scenic views in Darien
1 scenic view without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Picnic areas in Darien
Lakeside Picnic Pavillions
DirectionsPlus 2 picnic areas without a name on the map.
Campgrounds in Darien
Darien Lakes State Park CampgroundIn Darien Lakes State Park
DirectionsTrails & water
9 named trails and 7 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Horses · 12.6 miUnpaved · 0.9 mi
20-772.5 mi
Gas Line2.3 mi
Shotgun Ridge 11.6 mi
Conservation Trail1.6 mi
771.5 mi
Shotgun Ridge 20.6 mi
Beavertown Trail0.6 mi
Water Line0.6 mi
NA0.4 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
3Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Darien: 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 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.6 | 15.3 | 15.0 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.7 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 31 | 33 | 42 | 55 | 67 | 76 | 80 | 78 | 72 | 60 | 47 | 36 |
| Rain (in) | 3.1 | 2.3 | 2.8 | 3.4 | 3.4 | 3.8 | 3.8 | 3.7 | 3.9 | 3.9 | 3.4 | 3.4 |
February is the driest month (2.3 in) and July the warmest (highs of 80 °F). 3.9 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Darien →
Next door
Darien and its neighbors
Darien has the most mapped trails of the 5 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Darien | 6% | 0.6 | 655 | 29% | B+ |
| Pembroke | 1% | 0.1 | 31 | 20% | C |
| Bennington | 1% | under 0.1 | 57 | 10% | C |
| Alexander | under 1% | 0.2 | 37 | 28% | C |
| Alden | 3% | 0.1 | 10 | 43% | C |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Darien
Where can I hike in Darien?
The longest trail networks: Darien Lakes State Park, 20.6 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Darien is conserved land?
6% 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 Darien’s trails?
Darien Lakes State Park doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Darien?
12,050 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Darien or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,956 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Darien have?
Ahead of 72% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #327 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 Darien 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 →