Howard has 6.4 miles of mapped trails, 0.1 for every square mile of land
9% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 5 acres are parks and preserves, 3.6 per 1,000 residents. 1% of Howard’s land is conserved, about 545 acres.
Ahead of 15% of U.S. towns. What drives it
How much outdoors does Howard have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Howard is ahead of 15% of U.S. towns. All four inputs are below most U.S. towns; conserved land comes closest.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
545 conserved acres
1% of Howard’s land. Who manages Howard’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 143 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 6 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Burt Hill Multiple Use Area State Resource Management Area | State conservation | 397 | Open |
| Howard Town of Land Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Unknown |
3 places to go in Howard
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
1 named trail and 2 lakes & rivers
The best walking months in Howard: May and July 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) | 9.4 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.6 | 15.3 | 15.0 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.1 |
| High (°F) | 31 | 34 | 42 | 56 | 68 | 76 | 80 | 78 | 71 | 59 | 46 | 36 |
| Rain (in) | 2.2 | 1.9 | 2.4 | 3.1 | 3.5 | 4.0 | 3.7 | 3.6 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 2.7 | 2.5 |
February is the driest month (1.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 80 °F). 4.0 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Howard →
Howard 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Howard | 1% | 0.1 | 4 | 9% | C− |
| Canisteo | under 1% | 0.1 | 3 | 44% | C− |
| Avoca | under 1% | 0.1 | 7 | 41% | C− |
| Hornellsville | 6% | 0.4 | 441 | 65% | A− |
| Bath | 4% | 0.2 | 230 | 62% | B+ |
| Cohocton | under 1% | 0.1 | 34 | 23% | C |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Howard
How much of Howard 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.
Is there public land near Howard?
11,474 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Howard or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 403 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Howard have?
Ahead of 15% 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 Howard neighbors.
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 →