Lime Hollow Nature Center
Nature preserve
8 acres0.1 mi of trail
High Vista loop
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Groton High School · Photo: Jerrye & Roy Klotz, MD · CC BY-SA 4.0COutdoors
Outdoors in Groton
Groton has 111 acres of parks, 20 for every 1,000 residents
7.4 miles of mapped trail cross Groton, 0.1 per square mile of land. 38% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 33% of U.S. towns · #675 of 758 in New York. What drives it
Conserved land
1%
292 acres · of 49.4 sq mi of land
Trails
7.4 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
111 ac
20 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
38%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
1
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Groton have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Groton is ahead of 33% of U.S. towns, #675 of 758 in New York. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
C
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Groton’s overall grade.
Conserved land1% of the land · typical NY town 5% · U.S. 4%CTrails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (7 mi) · NY 0.4 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land20 acres of park per 1,000 residents (111 acres) · NY 31 · U.S. 13BParks close to home38% 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 33%
LessMore
New York towns of 2,500+ (758)Ahead of 11%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C+. 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 Lime Hollow Nature Center, with 0.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
292 conserved acres
1% of Groton’s land. Who manages Groton’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits104 ac
Town or city86 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)56 ac
Regional agency23 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government18 ac
Regional Water Districts3 ac
State conservation1 ac
Local Park · 104 acUnknown Easement · 95 acConservation Easement · 56 acLocal Other or Unknown · 26 acPrivate Conservation · 11 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 151 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 6 of 11 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Village of Groton Land Local Park | Town or city | 86 | Unknown |
| Groton Memorial Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 18 | Open |
| Groton Elementary School Land Local Other or Unknown | Regional agency | 11 | Unknown |
| Thurber Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 11 | Closed |
| Groton Central School Dist No1 Land Local Other or Unknown | Regional agency | 7 | Unknown |
| Groton Central School Land Local Other or Unknown | Regional agency | 5 | Unknown |
| Groton Water Works Land Local Other or Unknown | Regional Water Districts | 3 | Unknown |
Things to do
3 places to go in Groton
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Groton
3 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
1 named trail and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
High Vista loop0.1 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.
Courts & fields
4Baseball
4Soccer
2Football
1Tennis
1Multi-sport
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).
Groton High SchoolBuilding · listed 1992
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Groton: May and August
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 | 9.1 |
| High (°F) | 30 | 33 | 41 | 54 | 67 | 75 | 79 | 78 | 71 | 58 | 46 | 35 |
| Rain (in) | 2.7 | 2.3 | 3.0 | 3.5 | 3.6 | 4.4 | 4.1 | 4.0 | 4.2 | 4.0 | 3.2 | 3.2 |
February is the driest month (2.3 in) and July the warmest (highs of 79 °F). 4.4 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Groton →
Next door
Groton 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Groton | 1% | 0.1 | 20 | 38% | C |
| Lansing | 2% | 0.2 | 11 | 55% | C+ |
| Dryden | 12% | 0.6 | 337 | 45% | A− |
| Summerhill | 22% | 0.2 | 3,840 | 40% | A− |
| Locke | 10% | 0.1 | 774 | 32% | B |
| Cortlandville | 2% | 0.3 | 49 | 55% | B |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Groton
Where can I hike in Groton?
The longest trail networks: Lime Hollow Nature Center, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Groton is conserved land?
1% 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 Groton’s trails?
Lime Hollow Nature Center doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Groton?
30,934 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Groton or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 111 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Groton have?
Ahead of 33% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #675 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 Groton 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 →