Bentley Nature Preserve
Nature preserve
37 acres0.7 mi of trail
Pamela A. Westrom Wildflower Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: E. Bailey · Public domainB−Outdoors
Outdoors in Ellicott
Ellicott has 219 acres of parks, 25 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Bentley Nature Preserve (0.7 mi). 2.5 miles of mapped trail cross Ellicott, 0.1 per square mile of land. 3% of Ellicott’s land is conserved, about 622 acres.
Ahead of 47% of U.S. towns · #575 of 758 in New York. What drives it
Conserved land
3%
622 acres · of 30.5 sq mi of land
Trails
2.5 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
219 ac
25 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
61%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
1,670 ft
Harris Hill
Lakes & rivers
3
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Ellicott have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Ellicott is ahead of 47% of U.S. towns, #575 of 758 in New York. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
B−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Ellicott’s overall grade.
Conserved land3% of the land · typical NY town 5% · U.S. 4%B−Trails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (3 mi) · NY 0.4 · U.S. 0.4CPark land25 acres of park per 1,000 residents (219 acres) · NY 31 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home61% 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 47%
LessMore
New York towns of 2,500+ (758)Ahead of 24%
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 Bentley Nature Preserve, with 0.7 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Falconer Park
Park
10 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
622 conserved acres
3% of Ellicott’s land. Who manages Ellicott’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits252 ac
Town or city207 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)153 ac
County10 ac
State conservation5 ac
Local Park · 207 acConservation Easement · 153 acPrivate Conservation · 143 acAgricultural Easement · 110 acLocal Recreation Area · 10 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 262 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 6 of 18 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy Land Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 143 | Closed |
| City of Jamestown BPU Land Local Park | Town or city | 97 | Unknown |
| City of Jamestown BPU-Water Land Local Park | Town or city | 76 | Unknown |
| Village of Falconer Land Local Park | Town or city | 12 | Unknown |
| Village of Celoron Land Local Park | Town or city | 7 | Unknown |
| Town of Ellicott Land Local Park | Town or city | 7 | Unknown |
| County Of Chautauqua Land Local Park | County | 6 | Unknown |
| Unknown Ball Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| Clay Pond Wma State Resource Management Area | State conservation | 5 | Open |
| Abe Mattison Millrace Park Local Recreation Area | County | 4 | Open |
2 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
6 places to go in Ellicott
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Ellicott
Southwestern Playground
DirectionsSouthwestern Playground
DirectionsPlus 3 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Peaks in Ellicott
Harris Hill1,670 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
1 named trail and 3 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Pamela A. Westrom Wildflower Trail0.7 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
9Baseball
9Tennis
3Tracks
3Basketball
2Football
1Soccer
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Ellicott: 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) | 9.4 | 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 | 34 | 43 | 57 | 69 | 76 | 80 | 79 | 72 | 60 | 47 | 37 |
| Rain (in) | 3.5 | 2.6 | 3.1 | 3.7 | 3.8 | 4.2 | 4.4 | 3.8 | 4.1 | 4.3 | 3.8 | 4.0 |
February is the driest month (2.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 80 °F). 4.4 inches fall in July, the wettest month. The climate in Ellicott →
Next door
Ellicott and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Gerry26 miEllery11 miJamestown3.5 miEllicott2.5 miPoland1.8 miBusti0.9 miCeloron0.1 miLakewood0.0 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ellicott | 3% | 0.1 | 25 | 61% | B− |
| Jamestown | 6% | 0.4 | 15 | 99%+ | A− |
| Celoron | 2% | 0.1 | 7 | 99%+ | B− |
| Gerry | 15% | 0.7 | 1,689 | 37% | A− |
| Poland | 1% | under 0.1 | 2 | 15% | D |
| Busti | 2% | under 0.1 | 69 | 53% | C+ |
| Ellery | 2% | 0.2 | 94 | 36% | B− |
| Lakewood | 2% | under 0.1 | 7 | 87% | C |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Ellicott
Where can I hike in Ellicott?
The longest trail networks: Bentley Nature Preserve, 0.7 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Ellicott 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 Ellicott’s trails?
Bentley Nature Preserve and Falconer Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Ellicott?
16,224 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Ellicott or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 225 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Ellicott have?
Ahead of 47% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #575 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 Ellicott 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 →