Grand Island has 2,922 acres of parks, 136 for every 1,000 residents
17% of Grand Island’s land is conserved, about 3,124 acres. 25 miles of mapped trail cross Grand Island, 0.9 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Beaver Island State Park (5.4 mi), Buckhorn Island State Park (4.2 mi), Scenic Woods (3.1 mi).
Ahead of 94% of U.S. towns · #88 of 758 in New York. What drives it
Conserved land
17%
3,124 acres · of 28.3 sq mi of land
Trails
25 mi
0.9 per sq mi of land
Park land
2,922 ac
136 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
86%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
20 mi
1.2 mi lanes · 18 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
4
4 beaches · 5 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Grand Island?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Grand Island is ahead of 94% of U.S. towns, #88 of 758 in New York. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; park acres per resident rank highest, the share of residents near a park lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Grand Island’s overall grade.
Water is 15% of Grand Island’s area (5 of 33 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 15%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would still be 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.
17% of Grand Island’s land. Water is left out: Grand Island has 28.3 square miles of land and 5.0 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Grand Island’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State parks2,333 ac
Town or city454 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits184 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government124 ac
State conservation53 ac
State Park · 1,820 acLocal Park · 578 acState Recreation Area · 513 acConservation Easement · 184 acState Resource Management Area · 53 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 184 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 2 of 12 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
Parcel (PAD-US)
Managed by
Acres
Public access
Beaver Island State Park
State Park
State parks
943
Open
Buckhorn Island State Park
State Park
State parks
877
Open
West River Shoreline Trail
State Recreation Area
State parks
490
Open
Town Of Grand Island Land
Local Park
Town or city
454
Unknown
Veterans Park
Local Park
Other or Unknown Local Government
124
Open
Spicer Creek Wma
State Resource Management Area
State conservation
34
Open
Big Six Mile Creek Marina
State Recreation Area
State parks
23
Open
Motor Island Wma
State Resource Management Area
State conservation
19
Open
Things to do
51 places to go in Grand Island
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.2 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
18 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
22Tennis
18Baseball
17Soccer
6Basketball
3Football
2Beach volleyball
2Pickleball
1Golf
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 2 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
The best walking months in Grand Island: 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)
9.3
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)
2.7
2.1
2.6
3.3
3.3
3.4
3.5
3.1
3.6
3.6
3.0
3.0
February is the driest month (2.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 81 °F). 3.6 inches fall in September, the wettest month. The climate in Grand Island →
Next door
Grand Island and its neighbors
Grand Island has the most mapped trails of the 8 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Grand Island
Where can I hike in Grand Island?
The longest trail networks: Beaver Island State Park, 5.4 miles; Buckhorn Island State Park, 4.2 miles; Scenic Woods, 3.1 miles; Veterans Park, 1.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Grand Island is conserved land?
17% 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 Grand Island’s trails?
OpenStreetMap records dogs as welcome at Buckhorn Island State Park (on leash). For the rest, check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Grand Island?
20 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.2 of painted or protected lanes and 18 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Grand Island?
13,569 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Grand Island or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 3,139 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Grand Island have?
Ahead of 94% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #88 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 Grand Island neighbors.
Photo: amandabanana87 · CC BY 2.0