Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Cyrus Bates House · Photo: Loslazos · CC BY-SA 4.0The biggest trail networks: Robert G. Wehle State Park (13.4 mi), Westcott Beach State Park (3.5 mi), Henderson Shores Unique Area (0.8 mi). 9% of Henderson’s land is conserved, about 2,316 acres. 27 miles of mapped trail cross Henderson, 0.7 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 81% of U.S. towns. What drives it
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, Henderson is ahead of 81% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
Water is 22% of Henderson’s area (12 of 53 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 7%.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
The longest trail network is Robert G. Wehle State Park, with 13.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
9% of Henderson’s land. Water is left out: Henderson has 41.2 square miles of land and 11.8 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Henderson’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 2 of 12 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Robert G. Wehle State Park State Park | State parks | 1,077 | Open |
| Henderson Shores Unique Area State Conservation Area | State conservation | 884 | Open |
| Westcott Beach State Park State Park | State parks | 310 | Open |
| Stony Creek Boat Launch State Recreation Area | State parks | 23 | Open |
| Ontario Lake Boat Launch State Recreation Area | State conservation | 18 | Open |
| Henderson Town of Land Local Park | Town or city | 15 | Unknown |
| Jefferson County of Land Local Park | County | 4 | Unknown |
| El Dorado Beach Preserve Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 3 | Open |
| El Dorado Coastal Preserve Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 3 | Open |
| Henderson Town Lands Local Resource Management Area | Other or Unknown Local Government | 2 | Open |
2 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
2 beaches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
2 dog parks without a name on the map.
Plus 4 boat launches without a name on the map.
2 picnic areas without a name on the map.
Plus 1 campground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 1 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
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) | 9.2 | 10.4 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.7 | 15.4 | 15.1 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 8.9 |
| High (°F) | 30 | 31 | 40 | 53 | 66 | 75 | 79 | 78 | 71 | 58 | 46 | 35 |
| Rain (in) | 3.5 | 2.6 | 2.8 | 3.5 | 3.3 | 3.6 | 3.3 | 3.6 | 3.8 | 4.6 | 3.9 | 3.8 |
February is the driest month (2.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 79 °F). 4.6 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Henderson →
Henderson has the second most mapped trails of the 4 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Henderson | 9% | 0.7 | 1,378 | 46% | A− |
| Hounsfield | 4% | 0.6 | 30 | 38% | B |
| Ellisburg | 9% | 0.1 | 298 | 34% | B |
| Adams | 2% | under 0.1 | 52 | 56% | C+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
The longest trail networks: Robert G. Wehle State Park, 13.4 miles; Westcott Beach State Park, 3.5 miles; Henderson Shores Unique Area, 0.8 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
9% 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.
Robert G. Wehle State Park and Westcott Beach State Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
17,492 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Henderson or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 2,340 of them inside the town line.
Ahead of 81% 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.
Conditions, parking and favorite walks from Henderson neighbors.
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 →