Highland Forest
Managed by Onondaga County Parks
2,850 acres46.1 mi of trail
Main TrailOnondaga TrailHighland Forest Nature Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Fabius Village Historic District · Photo: Crazyale · CC0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Fabius
Fabius has 5,859 acres of parks, 2,840 for every 1,000 residents
77 miles of mapped trail cross Fabius, 1.7 per square mile of land. 21% of Fabius’ land is conserved, about 6,130 acres. The biggest trail networks: Highland Forest (46.1 mi), Morgan Hill State Forest (18.8 mi), Labrador Hollow Unique Area (4.6 mi).
Ahead of 92% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
21%
6,130 acres · of 46.5 sq mi of land
Trails
77 mi
1.7 per sq mi of land
Park land
5,859 ac
2,840 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
40%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
2,031 ft
Morgan Hill - North Peak
Lakes & rivers
3
1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Fabius?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Fabius have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Fabius is ahead of 92% 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 Fabius’ overall grade.
Conserved land21% of the land · typical NY town 5% · U.S. 4%ATrails1.7 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (77 mi) · NY 0.4 · U.S. 0.4APark land2,840 acres of park per 1,000 residents (5,859 acres) · NY 31 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home40% 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 92%
LessMore
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from A− 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 Highland Forest, with 46.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Morgan Hill State Forest
Managed by New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
2,170 acres18.8 mi of trail
Onondaga TrailYellow TrailGreen TrailBlue Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Labrador Hollow Unique Area
Nature preserve
774 acres4.6 mi of trail
Onondaga Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Brown Memorial Park
Park
2 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 5 parks & preserves
Highland Forest2,850 acres · 46.1 mi of trail · Onondaga County Parks
DirectionsMorgan Hill State Forest2,170 acres · 18.8 mi of trail · New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
DirectionsLabrador Hollow Unique Area774 acres · 4.6 mi of trail
DirectionsBrown Memorial Park2 acres
Heiberg Memorial Forest1 acres · State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry
Who protects it
6,130 conserved acres
21% of Fabius’ land. Who manages Fabius’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State conservation3,198 ac
County2,877 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits32 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)25 ac
Town or city1 ac
State Conservation Area · 2,944 acLocal Park · 2,878 acState Resource Management Area · 252 acConservation Easement · 50 acAgricultural Easement · 8 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 59 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 2 of 11 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Highland County Forest Local Park | County | 2,789 | Open |
| Morgan Hill State Forest State Conservation Area | State conservation | 2,170 | Open |
| Labrador Hollow Unique Area State Conservation Area | State conservation | 774 | Open |
| Heiberg Memorial Forest State Resource Management Area | State conservation | 252 | Open |
| County Forest Local Park | County | 88 | Open |
| Town of Fabius Land Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Unknown |
| Village Of Fabius Land Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Unknown |
Things to do
19 places to go in Fabius
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Fabius
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Fabius
Labrador Pond AccessIn Labrador Hollow Unique Area
DirectionsFishing spots in Fabius
Fabius Brook Fishing Access
DirectionsFabius Brook Public Fishing Stream
DirectionsPlus 2 fishing spots without a name on the map.
Scenic views in Fabius
2 scenic views without a name on the map.
Peaks in Fabius
Morgan Hill - North Peak2,031 ft elevation
DirectionsFellows Hill2,005 ft elevation · In Morgan Hill State Forest
DirectionsJones Hill1,962 ft elevation
DirectionsArab Hill1,946 ft elevation · In Highland Forest
DirectionsHogsback1,811 ft elevation
DirectionsMatson Hill1,591 ft elevation
DirectionsCampgrounds in Fabius
4 campgrounds without a name on the map.
Trails & water
7 named trails and 3 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 8.0 miUnpaved · 31.1 mi
Onondaga Trail8.0 mi
Main Trail7.7 mi
Yellow Trail3.5 mi
Green Trail1.6 mi
Highland Forest Nature Trail0.9 mi
Old Route 800.6 mi
Blue Trail0.2 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.
Westwind LoopBike route
2.8 miCourts & fields
4Baseball
4Tennis
2Beach volleyball
2Soccer
1Basketball
1Volleyball
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).
Fabius Village Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2000
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Fabius: 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 | 32 | 40 | 54 | 66 | 75 | 79 | 77 | 70 | 58 | 45 | 35 |
| Rain (in) | 2.9 | 2.5 | 3.2 | 3.7 | 3.9 | 4.6 | 4.4 | 4.2 | 4.1 | 4.4 | 3.5 | 3.5 |
February is the driest month (2.5 in) and July the warmest (highs of 79 °F). 4.6 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Fabius →
Next door
Fabius and its neighbors
Fabius has the most mapped trails of the 6 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fabius | 21% | 1.7 | 2,840 | 40% | A |
| Tully | 3% | 0.4 | 8 | 41% | C+ |
| DeRuyter | 15% | 0.4 | 2,263 | 60% | A− |
| Cuyler | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Pompey | 2% | 0.1 | 51 | 14% | C+ |
| Truxton | — 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 Fabius
Where can I hike in Fabius?
The longest trail networks: Highland Forest, 46.1 miles; Morgan Hill State Forest, 18.8 miles; Labrador Hollow Unique Area, 4.6 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Fabius is conserved land?
21% 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 Fabius’ trails?
Highland Forest and Morgan Hill State Forest don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Fabius?
43,794 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Fabius or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 6,110 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Fabius have?
Ahead of 92% 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 Fabius 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 →