McCarty Hill State Forest
Managed by New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
1,726 acres14 mi of trail
Finger Lakes / North Country Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Great Valley
Great Valley has 4,380 acres of parks, 2,689 for every 1,000 residents
14% of Great Valley’s land is conserved, about 4,367 acres. The biggest trail networks: McCarty Hill State Forest (14 mi), Rock City State Forest (4.7 mi). 27 miles of mapped trail cross Great Valley, 0.5 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 78% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
14%
4,367 acres · of 50.1 sq mi of land
Trails
27 mi
0.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
4,380 ac
2,689 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
26%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
2,329 ft
McCarty Hill
What kind of outdoors town is Great Valley?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Great Valley have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Great Valley is ahead of 78% 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 Great Valley’s overall grade.
Conserved land14% of the land · typical NY town 5% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (27 mi) · NY 0.4 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land2,689 acres of park per 1,000 residents (4,380 acres) · NY 31 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home26% 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 78%
LessMore
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 McCarty Hill State Forest, with 14 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Rock City State Forest
Managed by New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
627 acres4.7 mi of trail
Finger Lakes / North Country Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Allegany State Park
Managed by New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation
463 acres0.4 mi of trail
Christian Hollow Loop
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Windfall Creek State Forest
Managed by New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
851 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
All 6 parks & preserves
McCarty Hill State Forest1,726 acres · 14 mi of trail · New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
Rock City State Forest627 acres · 4.7 mi of trail · New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
Allegany State Park463 acres · 0.4 mi of trail · New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation
Windfall Creek State Forest851 acres · New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
Raecher Hill State Forest532 acres · New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
Nine Mile Creek State Forest141 acres · New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
Who protects it
4,367 conserved acres
14% of Great Valley’s land. Who manages Great Valley’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State conservation3,897 ac
State parks465 ac
Town or city5 ac
State Conservation Area · 3,897 acState Park · 465 acLocal Park · 5 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 7 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mccarty Hill State Forest State Conservation Area | State conservation | 1,740 | Open |
| Windfall Creek State Forest State Conservation Area | State conservation | 853 | Open |
| Rock City State Forest State Conservation Area | State conservation | 628 | Open |
| Raecher Hill State Forest State Conservation Area | State conservation | 535 | Open |
| Allegany State Park State Park | State parks | 465 | Open |
| Nine Mile Creek State Forest State Conservation Area | State conservation | 141 | Open |
| Town Of Great Valley Land Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Unknown |
Things to do
4 places to go in Great Valley
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Scenic views in Great Valley
1 scenic view without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Peaks in Great Valley
McCarty Hill2,329 ft elevation · In McCarty Hill State Forest
DirectionsSmith Mountain2,224 ft elevation
DirectionsCampgrounds in Great Valley
1 campground without a name on the map.
Trails & water
2 named trails
Named trails
Finger Lakes / North Country Trail1.3 mi
Christian Hollow Loop0.4 mi
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
4Baseball
2Tennis
1Soccer
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Great Valley: 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 | 15.2 | 15.0 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.1 |
| High (°F) | 32 | 34 | 43 | 57 | 69 | 76 | 80 | 78 | 72 | 60 | 47 | 36 |
| Rain (in) | 3.4 | 2.4 | 3.0 | 3.6 | 3.8 | 4.4 | 4.7 | 4.2 | 4.2 | 4.2 | 3.6 | 3.7 |
February is the driest month (2.4 in) and July the warmest (highs of 80 °F). 4.7 inches fall in July, the wettest month. The climate in Great Valley →
Next door
Great Valley and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Carrollton47 miLittle Valley34 miGreat Valley27 miEllicottville20 miSalamanca18 miHumphrey8.4 miSalamanca1.7 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Great Valley | 14% | 0.5 | 2,689 | 26% | A− |
| Salamanca | 20% | 0.3 | 124 | 95% | A |
| Humphrey | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Little Valley | 25% | 1.1 | 2,727 | 91% | A+ |
| Carrollton | 41% | 1.1 | 8,539 | 48% | A |
| Ellicottville | 2% | 0.4 | 13 | 16% | C+ |
| Salamanca | — 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 Great Valley
Where can I hike in Great Valley?
The longest trail networks: McCarty Hill State Forest, 14 miles; Rock City State Forest, 4.7 miles; Allegany State Park, 0.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Great Valley is conserved land?
14% 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 Great Valley’s trails?
McCarty Hill State Forest and Rock City State Forest don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Great Valley?
76,291 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Great Valley or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 4,380 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Great Valley have?
Ahead of 78% 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 Great Valley 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 →