Black Brook County Park
Park
87 acres0.9 mi of trail
Erie Canalway Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
US Post Office-Clyde · Photo: Jimmy Emerson from Dalton GA · CC BY-SA 2.0B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Galen
Galen has 1,327 acres of parks, 304 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Black Brook County Park (0.9 mi). 7% of Galen’s land is conserved, about 2,586 acres. 12 miles of mapped trail cross Galen, 0.2 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 69% of U.S. towns · #361 of 758 in New York. What drives it
Conserved land
7%
2,586 acres · of 59.5 sq mi of land
Trails
12 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,327 ac
304 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
54%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
3.0 mi
0.4 mi lanes
Highest peak
492 ft
Kelsey Hill
Lakes & rivers
2
1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Galen?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Galen have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Galen is ahead of 69% of U.S. towns, #361 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 Galen’s overall grade.
Conserved land7% of the land · typical NY town 5% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (12 mi) · NY 0.4 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land304 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,327 acres) · NY 31 · U.S. 13AParks close to home54% 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 69%
LessMore
New York towns of 2,500+ (758)Ahead of 52%
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 Black Brook County Park, with 0.9 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge
Managed by United States Fish and Wildlife Service
5,003 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Galen Wildlife Management Area
Nature preserve
751 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Lauraville Landing Park
Managed by Village of Clyde
5 acres0.2 mi of trail
Erie Canalway Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 6 parks & preserves
Black Brook County Park87 acres · 0.9 mi of trail
Lauraville Landing Park5 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · Village of Clyde
DirectionsLock Berlin Canal Park5 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
Centennial Park2 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Village of Clyde
DirectionsMontezuma National Wildlife Refuge5,003 acres · United States Fish and Wildlife Service
Galen Wildlife Management Area751 acres
Who protects it
2,586 conserved acres
7% of Galen’s land. Who manages Galen’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Other state land1,201 ac
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service1,052 ac
State conservation757 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)63 ac
Town or city21 ac
County15 ac
Private owners2 ac
State Recreation Area · 1,201 acNational Wildlife Refuge · 1,052 acState Resource Management Area · 757 acConservation Easement · 63 acLocal Park · 36 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 63 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 3 of 11 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Erie Canal State Recreation Area | Other state land | 1,201 | Open |
| Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge National Wildlife Refuge | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 1,052 | Restricted |
| Galen Wma State Resource Management Area | State conservation | 757 | Open |
| Village Of Clyde Land Local Park | Town or city | 21 | Unknown |
| County Of Wayne Black Brook Pk Land Local Park | County | 13 | Unknown |
| County Of Wayne Land Local Park | County | 2 | Unknown |
| Private Lands Private Other or Unknown | Private owners | 2 | Closed |
Things to do
5 places to go in Galen
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Galen
3 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Galen
1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Peaks in Galen
Kelsey Hill492 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
2 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 7.2 miUnpaved · 7.6 mi
Erie Canalway Trail6.8 mi
West Shore Railroad0.4 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
3.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.4 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
2.6 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Erie Canalway Trail - 1 Buffalo to FairgroundsBike route
6.8 miCourts & fields
5Tennis
4Baseball
1Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →3 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 3 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The best walking months in Galen: 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) | 9.3 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.6 | 15.3 | 15.1 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 32 | 34 | 42 | 55 | 68 | 77 | 81 | 80 | 73 | 60 | 48 | 37 |
| Rain (in) | 2.6 | 2.1 | 2.5 | 3.0 | 3.2 | 3.6 | 3.6 | 3.5 | 3.4 | 3.7 | 3.0 | 2.9 |
February is the driest month (2.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 81 °F). 3.7 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Galen →
Next door
Galen and its neighbors
Galen has the second most mapped trails of the 7 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Galen | 7% | 0.2 | 304 | 54% | B+ |
| Savannah | 24% | 0.1 | 82 | 28% | B |
| Lyons | 1% | 0.1 | 75 | 62% | B− |
| Rose | 1% | under 0.1 | 19 | 26% | C− |
| Junius | 1% | under 0.1 | 168 | 12% | C |
| Tyre | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Butler | 1% | under 0.1 | 2 | 22% | D |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Galen
Where can I hike in Galen?
The longest trail networks: Black Brook County Park, 0.9 miles; Lauraville Landing Park, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Galen is conserved land?
7% 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 Galen’s trails?
Black Brook County Park and Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Galen?
3.0 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.4 of painted or protected lanes and 2.6 of shoulders and shared lanes. Named routes: Erie Canalway Trail - 1 Buffalo to Fairgrounds.
Is there public land near Galen?
15,471 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Galen or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 2,090 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Galen have?
Ahead of 69% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #361 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 Galen 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 →