Town of Elma Park
Managed by Town of Elma
27 acres0.9 mi of trail
Whitney Huber Walking Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
BOutdoors
Outdoors in Elma
Elma has 473 acres of parks, 41 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Town of Elma Park (0.9 mi). 21 miles of mapped trail cross Elma, 0.6 per square mile of land. 37% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 64% of U.S. towns · #405 of 758 in New York. What drives it
Conserved land
5%
1,002 acres · of 34.5 sq mi of land
Trails
21 mi
0.6 per sq mi of land
Park land
473 ac
41 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
37%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
2.5 mi
2.5 mi lanes
Lakes & rivers
1
1 beach
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Elma have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Elma is ahead of 64% of U.S. towns, #405 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 Elma’s overall grade.
Conserved land5% of the land · typical NY town 5% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.6 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (21 mi) · NY 0.4 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land41 acres of park per 1,000 residents (473 acres) · NY 31 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home37% 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 64%
LessMore
New York towns of 2,500+ (758)Ahead of 47%
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 Town of Elma Park, with 0.9 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Knox Farm State Park
Managed by New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation
81 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Elma Meadows County Park
Park
25 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 5 parks & preserves
Town of Elma Park27 acres · 0.9 mi of trail · Town of Elma
DirectionsElma Centennial Park47 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsKnox Farm State Park81 acres · New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation
Elma Meadows County Park25 acres
Winch Lake13 acres
Who protects it
1,002 conserved acres
5% of Elma’s land. Who manages Elma’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits448 ac
County211 ac
Town or city159 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)93 ac
State parks81 ac
Private owners10 ac
Local Park · 370 acOther Easement · 354 acConservation Easement · 121 acState Park · 91 acAgricultural Easement · 61 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 537 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 4 of 16 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elma Meadows County Park Local Park | County | 211 | Open |
| Town Of Elma Park Land Local Park | Town or city | 124 | Unknown |
| Knox Farm State Park State Park | State parks | 81 | Open |
| Town Of Elma Park/Senior Ctr Land Local Park | Town or city | 26 | Unknown |
| Winch Park State Park | Private owners | 10 | Open |
| Town Of Elma Water Land Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Unknown |
| Boys and Girls Club Lands Private Other or Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 5 | Closed |
| Town of Elma Drainage Dist#81 Land Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Unknown |
Things to do
6 places to go in Elma
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Elma
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Elma
3 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Waterfalls in Elma
1 waterfall without a name on the map.
Campgrounds in Elma
Camp CenterlandJewish Community Center of Greater Buffalo
DirectionsTrails & water
6 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 6.8 mi
TRL-81.9 mi
TRL-30.6 mi
Whitney Huber Walking Trail0.6 mi
TRL-10.2 mi
TRL-90.2 mi
TRL-20.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
2.5 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
2.5 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
Courts & fields
10Tennis
5Baseball
4Tracks
3Soccer
3Basketball
3Multi-sport
2Equestrian
1Golf
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). The map also marks 1 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Burton H. Hurd HouseBuilding · listed 2026
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Elma: May to August
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) | 32 | 34 | 43 | 56 | 68 | 76 | 81 | 79 | 73 | 61 | 48 | 37 |
| Rain (in) | 3.3 | 2.3 | 2.8 | 3.6 | 3.4 | 3.7 | 3.8 | 3.6 | 4.2 | 4.0 | 3.6 | 3.7 |
February is the driest month (2.3 in) and July the warmest (highs of 81 °F). 4.2 inches fall in September, the wettest month. The climate in Elma →
Next door
Elma and its neighbors
Elma 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elma | 5% | 0.6 | 41 | 37% | B |
| Aurora | 7% | 0.5 | 106 | 71% | A− |
| Lancaster | 3% | 0.5 | 18 | 76% | B |
| West Seneca | 6% | 0.2 | 7 | 82% | B− |
| Billington Heights | — 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 Elma
Where can I hike in Elma?
The longest trail networks: Town of Elma Park, 0.9 miles; Elma Centennial Park, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Elma is conserved land?
5% 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 Elma’s trails?
Town of Elma Park and Elma Centennial Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Elma?
2.5 miles of bike routes are on the map: 2.5 of painted or protected lanes.
Is there public land near Elma?
13,958 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Elma or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 502 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Elma have?
Ahead of 64% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #405 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 Elma 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 →