Three Rivers Wildlife Management Area
Nature preserve
3,571 acres5.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Whig Hill and Dependencies · Photo: Gilbert Ask, Photographer · Public domainB+Outdoors
Outdoors in Lysander
13% of Lysander’s land is conserved: 4,973 acres
867 acres are parks and preserves, 38 per 1,000 residents. The biggest trail networks: Three Rivers Wildlife Management Area (5.3 mi), Beaver Lake Nature Center (3.8 mi), Lysander Town Park (0.9 mi). 49% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 69% of U.S. towns · #349 of 758 in New York. What drives it
Conserved land
13%
4,973 acres · of 61.7 sq mi of land
Trails
19 mi
0.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
867 ac
38 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
49%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
2.7 mi
Lakes & rivers
4
1 beach · 2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Lysander?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Lysander have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Lysander is ahead of 69% of U.S. towns, #349 of 758 in New York. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Lysander’s overall grade.
Conserved land13% of the land · typical NY town 5% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (19 mi) · NY 0.4 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land38 acres of park per 1,000 residents (867 acres) · NY 31 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home49% 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 69%
LessMore
New York towns of 2,500+ (758)Ahead of 54%
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 Three Rivers WMA, with 5.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Beaver Lake Nature Center
Managed by Onondaga County Parks
555 acres3.8 mi of trail
Lake Loop TrailBog trailHemlock Hollow trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Lysander Town Park
Park
44 acres0.9 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Cross Lake Islands Wildlife Management Area
Nature preserve
26 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
All 6 parks & preserves
Three Rivers Wildlife Management Area3,571 acres · 5.3 mi of trail
DirectionsBeaver Lake Nature Center555 acres · 3.8 mi of trail · Onondaga County Parks
DirectionsLysander Town Park44 acres · 0.9 mi of trail
DirectionsMercer Park2 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsBaldwin Canal Square1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsCross Lake Islands Wildlife Management Area26 acres
Who protects it
4,973 conserved acres
13% of Lysander’s land. Who manages Lysander’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State conservation3,619 ac
County570 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits501 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)273 ac
Other state land182 ac
Town or city54 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government2 ac
State Resource Management Area · 3,617 acLocal Park · 626 acPrivate Conservation · 501 acAgricultural Easement · 273 acState Recreation Area · 184 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 271 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 3 of 14 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Three Rivers Wma State Resource Management Area | State conservation | 3,591 | Open |
| Onondaga County Land Local Park | County | 570 | Unknown |
| Seneca River Preserve Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 446 | Open |
| Erie Canal State Recreation Area | Other state land | 164 | Open |
| Town Of Lysander Land Local Park | Town or city | 48 | Unknown |
| Emerick Road Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 35 | Closed |
| Cross Lake Islands Wma State Resource Management Area | State conservation | 27 | Open |
| Cantebury Woods Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 19 | Closed |
| Oswego Canal State Recreation Area | Other state land | 18 | Open |
| Village Of Baldwinsville Land Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Unknown |
2 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
15 places to go in Lysander
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Lysander
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Lysander
10 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Lysander
2 boat launches without a name on the map.
Scenic views in Lysander
2 scenic views without a name on the map.
Trails & water
3 named trails and 4 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 1.0 mi
Lake Loop Trail2.8 mi
Bog trail0.4 mi
Hemlock Hollow trail0.4 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
2.7 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
2.7 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
13Tennis
8Baseball
7Soccer
7Basketball
6Tracks
5Lacrosse
2Football
1Beach volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →3 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
When to get out
The best walking months in Lysander: 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 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.7 | 15.4 | 15.1 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 31 | 33 | 41 | 55 | 68 | 77 | 81 | 80 | 73 | 60 | 47 | 36 |
| Rain (in) | 3.2 | 2.7 | 3.1 | 3.5 | 3.6 | 3.9 | 3.9 | 3.6 | 3.7 | 4.4 | 3.7 | 3.6 |
February is the driest month (2.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 81 °F). 4.4 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Lysander →
Next door
Lysander and its neighbors
Lysander has the most mapped trails of the 8 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Lysander19 miGeddes5.9 miElbridge5.4 miSchroeppel5.1 miRadisson3.6 miVan Buren2.0 miCato1.3 miClay1.1 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lysander | 13% | 0.3 | 38 | 49% | B+ |
| Van Buren | 2% | 0.1 | 26 | 70% | C+ |
| Clay | 9% | under 0.1 | 16 | 92% | B |
| Schroeppel | 4% | 0.1 | 115 | 50% | B |
| Elbridge | 8% | 0.1 | 51 | 61% | B |
| Radisson | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Cato | under 1% | under 0.1 | 30 | 41% | C |
| Geddes | 12% | 0.6 | 22 | 99% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Lysander
Where can I hike in Lysander?
The longest trail networks: Three Rivers Wildlife Management Area, 5.3 miles; Beaver Lake Nature Center, 3.8 miles; Lysander Town Park, 0.9 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Lysander is conserved land?
13% 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 Lysander’s trails?
Three Rivers Wildlife Management Area and Beaver Lake Nature Center don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Lysander?
2.7 miles of bike routes are on the map: 2.7 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Lysander?
18,502 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Lysander or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 4,503 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Lysander have?
Ahead of 69% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #349 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 Lysander 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 →