Bear Creek State Forest
Managed by New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
554 acres1.9 mi of trail
Finger Lakes / North Country Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Photo: Pooley1999 · CC BY-SA 3.0B−Outdoors
Outdoors in Machias
Machias has 596 acres of parks, 260 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Bear Creek State Forest (1.9 mi). 28% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 6.0 miles of mapped trail cross Machias, 0.1 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 54% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
4%
1,145 acres · of 40.4 sq mi of land
Trails
6.0 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
596 ac
260 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
28%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
2,146 ft
Tug Hill
Lakes & rivers
3
What kind of outdoors town is Machias?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Machias have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Machias is ahead of 54% of U.S. towns. 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 Machias’ overall grade.
Conserved land4% of the land · typical NY town 5% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (6 mi) · NY 0.4 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land260 acres of park per 1,000 residents (596 acres) · NY 31 · U.S. 13AParks close to home28% 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 54%
LessMore
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
The longest trail network is Bear Creek State Forest, with 1.9 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
1,145 conserved acres
4% of Machias’ land. Who manages Machias’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State conservation558 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)544 ac
County39 ac
Town or city4 ac
State Conservation Area · 558 acConservation Easement · 544 acLocal Park · 43 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 544 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 2 of 9 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bear Creek State Forest State Conservation Area | State conservation | 558 | Open |
| Cattaraugus County Land Local Park | County | 39 | Unknown |
| Town Of Machias Park Land Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Unknown |
Things to do
1 places to go in Machias
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Peaks in Machias
Tug Hill2,146 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
1 named trail and 3 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Finger Lakes / North Country Trail1.7 mi
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
2Baseball
2Tennis
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Machias: May, June, 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) | 9.4 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.6 | 15.3 | 15.0 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.1 |
| High (°F) | 30 | 33 | 41 | 55 | 67 | 75 | 78 | 77 | 70 | 59 | 46 | 35 |
| Rain (in) | 3.5 | 2.7 | 3.1 | 3.5 | 3.8 | 4.2 | 4.5 | 4.1 | 4.1 | 4.3 | 3.7 | 4.0 |
February is the driest month (2.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 78 °F). 4.5 inches fall in July, the wettest month. The climate in Machias →
Next door
Machias 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Machias | 4% | 0.1 | 260 | 28% | B− |
| Farmersville | 12% | 0.5 | 2,166 | 16% | B+ |
| Yorkshire | under 1% | 0.1 | 3 | 33% | D |
| Franklinville | 6% | 0.1 | 656 | 73% | B+ |
| Ashford | 6% | 0.3 | 12 | 5% | C+ |
| Ellicottville | 2% | 0.4 | 13 | 16% | C+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Machias
Where can I hike in Machias?
The longest trail networks: Bear Creek State Forest, 1.9 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Machias is conserved land?
4% 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 Machias’ trails?
Bear Creek State Forest doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Machias?
15,494 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Machias or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 596 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Machias have?
Ahead of 54% 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 Machias 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 →