Independence River Wild Forest
Managed by New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
23,311 acres37.1 mi of trail
Pine Lake TrailFletcher TrailBlueberry TrailIcicle Trail+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
AOutdoors
Outdoors in Greig
More than half of Greig’s land is conserved: 52%
52% of Greig’s land is conserved, about 30,863 acres. 25,418 acres are parks and preserves, 25,317 per 1,000 residents. The biggest trail networks: Independence River Wild Forest (37.1 mi), Otter Creek State Forest (12.9 mi), Ha-De-Ron-Dah Wilderness (4.3 mi).
Ahead of 90% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
52%
30,863 acres · of 92.5 sq mi of land
Trails
64 mi
0.7 per sq mi of land
Park land
25,418 ac
25,317 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
43%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
23
1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Greig?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Greig have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Greig is ahead of 90% 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 Greig’s overall grade.
Conserved land52% of the land · typical NY town 5% · U.S. 4%A+Trails0.7 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (64 mi) · NY 0.4 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land25,317 acres of park per 1,000 residents (25,418 acres) · NY 31 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home43% 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 90%
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 Independence River Wild Forest, with 37.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Otter Creek State Forest
Managed by New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
1,405 acres12.9 mi of trail
Eatonville TrailStreamside TrailCasslerville TrailOtter Creek Truck Trail+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Ha-De-Ron-Dah Wilderness
Managed by New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
4,162 acres4.3 mi of trail
Lost Lake TrailPine Lake TrailPine Creek TrailBig Otter Lake Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Independence River State Forest
Managed by New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
243 acres2.8 mi of trail
Hiawatha TrailIndependence River TrailGlenwood TrailTwin Ponds Trail+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto Overflow Horse ParkingWebsite ↗
All 5 parks & preserves
Independence River Wild Forest23,311 acres · 37.1 mi of trail · New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
DirectionsOtter Creek State Forest1,405 acres · 12.9 mi of trail · New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
DirectionsHa-De-Ron-Dah Wilderness4,162 acres · 4.3 mi of trail · New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
Independence River State Forest243 acres · 2.8 mi of trail · New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
DirectionsGreig Forest Preserve Detached Parcel239 acres
Who protects it
30,863 conserved acres
52% of Greig’s land. Who manages Greig’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State conservation29,415 ac
County1,113 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)337 ac
Town or city5 ac
State Conservation Area · 25,242 acState Wilderness · 4,165 acLocal Conservation Area · 1,113 acConservation Easement · 337 acState Recreation Area · 8 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 337 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 14 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Independence River Wild Forest State Conservation Area | State conservation | 23,352 | Open |
| Ha-De-Ron-Dah Wilderness State Wilderness | State conservation | 4,165 | Open |
| Otter Creek State Forest State Conservation Area | State conservation | 1,405 | Open |
| Lewis County Lands Local Conservation Area | County | 1,113 | Restricted |
| Independence River State Forest State Conservation Area | State conservation | 244 | Open |
| Greig Fp Detached Parcel State Conservation Area | State conservation | 241 | Open |
| Town Of Greig Land Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Unknown |
| Black River Fishing Access State Recreation Area | State conservation | 4 | Open |
| Black River At Glenfield Fishing Access State Recreation Area | State conservation | 4 | Open |
Things to do
4 places to go in Greig
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Boat launches in Greig
1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Fishing spots in Greig
Black River at Glenfield Fishing Access
DirectionsScenic views in Greig
2 scenic views without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
25 named trails and 23 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Horses · 37.7 miUnpaved · 7.1 mi
Pine Lake Trail4.6 mi
Fletcher Trail3.1 mi
Lost Lake Trail2.8 mi
Eatonville Trail2.7 mi
Otter Creek Truck Trail2.3 mi
Blueberry Trail2.1 mi
Streamside Trail2.0 mi
Casslerville Trail1.7 mi
Icicle Trail1.7 mi
Erie Canal Trail1.5 mi
15 more trails
Spring Creek Trail
1.4 miPitcher Pond Trail
1.4 miAspen Trail
1.2 miTwin Ponds Trail
1.1 miOtter Creek Trail
1.0 miCrooked Creek Trail
1.0 miHiawatha Trail
0.9 miCow Trail
0.7 miRidge Top Trail
0.5 miIndependence River Trail
0.5 miGlenwood Trail
0.5 miShingle Mills Falls Spur
0.5 miValley Trail
0.4 miJumper Trail
0.3 miPine Creek Trail
0.2 miLakes & rivers tap for directions
Airport PondBrantingham LakelakeCopper LakelakeDrunkard PondpondEast Pine PondFlorence PondpondGoose PondpondHiawatha LakepondLake of the PineslakeLily PondpondLittle Otter LakeLittle Pine LakelakeLong PondpondLost LakelakeMudhole PondpondPine LakelakePitcher PondpondPleasant LakeSand PondTwin PondspondWest Pine PondpondIndependence RiverOtter Creek
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
1Baseball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Greig: 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 | 10.4 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.7 | 15.4 | 15.1 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 8.9 |
| High (°F) | 26 | 29 | 38 | 51 | 65 | 73 | 77 | 75 | 69 | 56 | 43 | 32 |
| Rain (in) | 3.9 | 3.1 | 3.3 | 3.7 | 4.2 | 4.8 | 4.3 | 4.3 | 4.2 | 5.2 | 4.3 | 4.3 |
February is the driest month (3.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 77 °F). 5.2 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Greig →
Next door
Greig and its neighbors
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greig | 52% | 0.7 | 25,317 | 43% | A |
| Turin | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Martinsburg | 16% | under 0.1 | 5,445 | 42% | B |
| Lyonsdale | 15% | 0.1 | 3,920 | 75% | A− |
| Watson | 52% | 0.6 | 14,532 | 28% | A |
| Webb | 87% | 0.4 | 57,960 | 78% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Greig
Where can I hike in Greig?
The longest trail networks: Independence River Wild Forest, 37.1 miles; Otter Creek State Forest, 12.9 miles; Ha-De-Ron-Dah Wilderness, 4.3 miles; Independence River State Forest, 2.8 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Greig is conserved land?
52% 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 Greig’s trails?
Independence River Wild Forest and Otter Creek State Forest don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Greig?
173,592 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Greig or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 29,628 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Greig have?
Ahead of 90% 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 Greig 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 →