DeRuyter State Forest
Managed by New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
911 acres3.5 mi of trail
Onondaga Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Seventh Day Baptist Church · Photo: Doug Kerr from Albany, NY, United States · CC BY-SA 2.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in DeRuyter
DeRuyter has 2,894 acres of parks, 2,263 for every 1,000 residents
15% of DeRuyter’s land is conserved, about 2,974 acres. The biggest trail networks: DeRuyter State Forest (3.5 mi), Mariposa State Forest (2.9 mi), Three Springs State Forest (2.4 mi). 12 miles of mapped trail cross DeRuyter, 0.4 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 84% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
15%
2,974 acres · of 30.4 sq mi of land
Trails
12 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
2,894 ac
2,263 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
60%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
2,005 ft
Hunt Hill
Lakes & rivers
1
1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is DeRuyter?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does DeRuyter have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, DeRuyter is ahead of 84% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of DeRuyter’s overall grade.
Conserved land15% of the land · typical NY town 5% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (12 mi) · NY 0.4 · U.S. 0.4BPark land2,263 acres of park per 1,000 residents (2,894 acres) · NY 31 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home60% of residents within a half mile of a park · NY 70% · U.S. 72%B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 84%
LessMore
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 DeRuyter State Forest, with 3.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Mariposa State Forest
Managed by New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
1,141 acres2.9 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Three Springs State Forest
Nature preserve
789 acres2.4 mi of trail
Three Springs Truck Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Smith Park
Park
16 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
2,974 conserved acres
15% of DeRuyter’s land. Who manages DeRuyter’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State conservation2,859 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits94 ac
Town or city17 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government2 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)2 ac
State Conservation Area · 2,859 acAgricultural Easement · 94 acLocal Park · 17 acLocal Resource Management Area · 2 acConservation Easement · 2 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 96 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 7 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mariposa State Forest State Conservation Area | State conservation | 1,149 | Open |
| Deruyter State Forest State Conservation Area | State conservation | 916 | Open |
| Three Springs State Forest State Conservation Area | State conservation | 793 | Open |
| Village Of Deruyter Land Local Park | Town or city | 17 | Unknown |
| Deruyter Village Lands Local Resource Management Area | Other or Unknown Local Government | 2 | Open |
Things to do
6 places to go in DeRuyter
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Boat launches in DeRuyter
1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Peaks in DeRuyter
Hunt Hill2,005 ft elevation
DirectionsSouth Hill1,982 ft elevation
DirectionsKinney Hill1,965 ft elevation
DirectionsRichmond Hill1,906 ft elevation · In Mariposa State Forest
DirectionsCrumb Hill1,883 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
2 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 6.1 mi
Three Springs Truck Trail1.5 mi
Onondaga Trail1.4 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
1Baseball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Seventh Day Baptist ChurchBuilding · listed 2005
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in DeRuyter: May, August and 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) | 9.4 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.6 | 15.3 | 15.0 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 29 | 31 | 39 | 53 | 65 | 73 | 78 | 76 | 69 | 57 | 45 | 34 |
| Rain (in) | 3.1 | 2.6 | 3.3 | 3.8 | 4.0 | 4.7 | 4.5 | 4.4 | 4.2 | 4.5 | 3.6 | 3.6 |
February is the driest month (2.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 78 °F). 4.7 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in DeRuyter →
Next door
DeRuyter 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DeRuyter | 15% | 0.4 | 2,263 | 60% | A− |
| Cazenovia | 11% | 0.4 | 101 | 62% | A− |
| Georgetown | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Fabius | 21% | 1.7 | 2,840 | 40% | A |
| Lincklaen | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Cuyler | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in DeRuyter
Where can I hike in DeRuyter?
The longest trail networks: DeRuyter State Forest, 3.5 miles; Mariposa State Forest, 2.9 miles; Three Springs State Forest, 2.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of DeRuyter is conserved land?
15% 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 DeRuyter’s trails?
DeRuyter State Forest and Mariposa State Forest don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near DeRuyter?
64,399 acres of parks and open public land lie inside DeRuyter or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 2,894 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does DeRuyter have?
Ahead of 84% 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 DeRuyter 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 →