Wilson Hill Wildlife Management Area
Managed by New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
4,010 acres2.9 mi of trail
Wilson Hill WMA
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Louisville
Louisville has 1,880 acres of parks, 624 for every 1,000 residents
21% of Louisville’s land is conserved, about 6,382 acres. The biggest trail networks: Wilson Hill Wildlife Management Area (2.9 mi). 14% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 73% of U.S. towns · #316 of 758 in New York. What drives it
Conserved land
21%
6,382 acres · of 48.5 sq mi of land
Trails
19 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,880 ac
624 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
14%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
276 ft
Wilson Hill
What kind of outdoors town is Louisville?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Louisville have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Louisville is ahead of 73% of U.S. towns, #316 of 758 in New York. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Louisville’s overall grade.
Conserved land21% of the land · typical NY town 5% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (19 mi) · NY 0.4 · U.S. 0.4BPark land624 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,880 acres) · NY 31 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home14% 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 73%
LessMore
New York towns of 2,500+ (758)Ahead of 58%
Water is 24% of Louisville’s area (15 of 64 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 16%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B 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 Wilson Hill WMA, with 2.9 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Coles Creek State Park
Managed by New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation
1,056 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Croil Island State Park
Managed by New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation
705 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Louisville Forest Preserve Detached Parcel
Nature preserve
328 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
All 6 parks & preserves
Wilson Hill Wildlife Management Area4,010 acres · 2.9 mi of trail · New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
DirectionsMassena Town Beach22 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Coles Creek State Park1,056 acres · New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation
Croil Island State Park705 acres · New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation
Louisville Forest Preserve Detached Parcel328 acres
Whalen Park7 acres
Who protects it
6,382 conserved acres
21% of Louisville’s land. Water is left out: Louisville has 48.5 square miles of land and 15.3 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Louisville’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State conservation4,342 ac
State parks1,512 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)528 ac
State Resource Management Area · 4,012 acState Park · 1,500 acConservation Easement · 528 acState Conservation Area · 330 acState Recreation Area · 7 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 528 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wilson Hill Wma State Resource Management Area | State conservation | 4,012 | Open |
| Coles Creek State Park State Park | State parks | 782 | Open |
| Croil Island State Park State Park | State parks | 718 | Open |
| Louisville Fp Detached Parcel State Conservation Area | State conservation | 330 | Open |
| Wilson Hill Boat Launch State Recreation Area | State parks | 12 | Open |
Things to do
8 places to go in Louisville
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Louisville
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Louisville
3 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Louisville
Wilson Hill Boat Launch
DirectionsPlus 1 boat launch without a name on the map.
Peaks in Louisville
Wilson Hill276 ft elevation · In Wilson Hill Wildlife Management Area
DirectionsNichols Hill253 ft elevation · In Wilson Hill Wildlife Management Area
DirectionsTrails & water
2 named trails
Named trails
Open to bikes · 1.4 miHorses · 0.7 miUnpaved · 3.7 mi
Wilson Hill WMA1.9 mi
John Story Trail0.8 mi
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
3Baseball
1Tennis
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Louisville: May, August and 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) | 9.1 | 10.3 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.8 | 15.6 | 15.3 | 14.1 | 12.5 | 10.9 | 9.5 | 8.8 |
| High (°F) | 25 | 28 | 38 | 53 | 67 | 76 | 80 | 79 | 71 | 57 | 44 | 32 |
| Rain (in) | 2.6 | 2.1 | 2.4 | 3.1 | 3.3 | 3.8 | 3.8 | 3.3 | 3.6 | 3.9 | 2.9 | 2.7 |
February is the driest month (2.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 80 °F). 3.9 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Louisville →
Next door
Louisville and its neighbors
Louisville has the 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Louisville | 21% | 0.4 | 624 | 14% | B+ |
| Norfolk | 7% | 0.1 | 551 | 45% | B |
| Massena | 11% | 0.4 | 233 | 81% | A |
| Waddington | 6% | 0.2 | 560 | 43% | B+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Louisville
Where can I hike in Louisville?
The longest trail networks: Wilson Hill Wildlife Management Area, 2.9 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Louisville is conserved land?
21% 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 Louisville’s trails?
Wilson Hill Wildlife Management Area and Coles Creek State Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Louisville?
28,747 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Louisville or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 5,919 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Louisville have?
Ahead of 73% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #316 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 Louisville 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 →