Canada Creek State Forest
Nature preserve
618 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
BOutdoors
Outdoors in Lee
Lee has 1,824 acres of parks, 300 for every 1,000 residents
7% of Lee’s land is conserved, about 2,009 acres. 2.3 miles of mapped trail cross Lee, 0.1 per square mile of land. 44% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 57% of U.S. towns · #481 of 758 in New York. What drives it
Conserved land
7%
2,009 acres · of 45.1 sq mi of land
Trails
2.3 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,824 ac
300 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
44%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
2
What kind of outdoors town is Lee?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Lee have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Lee is ahead of 57% of U.S. towns, #481 of 758 in New York. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Lee’s overall grade.
Conserved land7% of the land · typical NY town 5% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (2 mi) · NY 0.4 · U.S. 0.4C−Park land300 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,824 acres) · NY 31 · U.S. 13AParks close to home44% 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 57%
LessMore
New York towns of 2,500+ (758)Ahead of 37%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to B+. 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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
2,009 conserved acres
7% of Lee’s land. Who manages Lee’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State conservation1,729 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government137 ac
Regional Water Districts92 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)51 ac
County9 ac
Other state land6 ac
State Conservation Area · 1,729 acLocal Other or Unknown · 92 acLocal Park · 79 acUnknown Easement · 59 acConservation Easement · 51 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 95 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 10 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canada Creek State Forest State Conservation Area | State conservation | 624 | Open |
| Point Rock State Forest State Conservation Area | State conservation | 580 | Open |
| West Branch State Forest State Conservation Area | State conservation | 525 | Open |
| Rome Water Works Land Local Other or Unknown | Regional Water Districts | 92 | Unknown |
| Lee Town Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 79 | Open |
| Oneida County Reforestation Lands Local Conservation Area | County | 9 | Restricted |
| Cayuga-Seneca Canal State Recreation Area | Other state land | 6 | Open |
Things to do
7 places to go in Lee
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Lee
7 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
2 lakes & rivers
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
10Baseball
3Tennis
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Lee: 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 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 29 | 31 | 40 | 54 | 67 | 76 | 80 | 78 | 71 | 58 | 46 | 34 |
| Rain (in) | 4.0 | 3.2 | 3.5 | 4.0 | 4.4 | 4.6 | 4.5 | 4.1 | 4.2 | 5.2 | 4.2 | 4.5 |
February is the driest month (3.2 in) and July the warmest (highs of 80 °F). 5.2 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Lee →
Next door
Lee 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lee | 7% | 0.1 | 300 | 44% | B |
| Annsville | 16% | 0.1 | 2,297 | 33% | B+ |
| Western | 18% | under 0.1 | 2,487 | 28% | B |
| Rome | 17% | 0.2 | 121 | 83% | A− |
| Ava | — 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 Lee
Where can I hike in Lee?
The longest trail networks: West Branch State Forest, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Lee is conserved land?
7% 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 Lee’s trails?
Canada Creek State Forest and Point Rock State Forest don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Lee?
44,714 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Lee or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,824 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Lee have?
Ahead of 57% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #481 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 Lee 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 →