Baltimore Woods Nature Center
Managed by Baltimore Woods Nature Center
277 acres5.1 mi of trail
Boundary TrailField-to-Forest TrailOverlook TrailArboretum Trail+1
No dogs
Directionsto the trailheadWebsite ↗
Tefft-Steadman House · Photo: Crazyale · CC0BOutdoors
Outdoors in Marcellus
Marcellus has 529 acres of parks, 88 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Baltimore Woods Nature Center (5.1 mi), Marcellus Park (2.4 mi). 8.2 miles of mapped trail cross Marcellus, 0.3 per square mile of land. 3% of Marcellus’ land is conserved, about 673 acres.
Ahead of 63% of U.S. towns · #416 of 758 in New York. What drives it
Conserved land
3%
673 acres · of 32.5 sq mi of land
Trails
8.2 mi
0.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
529 ac
88 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
62%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
1,129 ft
Howlett Hill
Lakes & rivers
4
1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Marcellus?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Marcellus have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Marcellus is ahead of 63% of U.S. towns, #416 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 Marcellus’ overall grade.
Conserved land3% of the land · typical NY town 5% · U.S. 4%B−Trails0.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (8 mi) · NY 0.4 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land88 acres of park per 1,000 residents (529 acres) · NY 31 · U.S. 13AParks close to home62% of residents within a half mile of a park · NY 70% · U.S. 72%B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 63%
LessMore
New York towns of 2,500+ (758)Ahead of 45%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B− 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 Baltimore Woods Nature Center, with 5.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Marcellus Park
Park
55 acres2.4 mi of trail
Fred's Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Holdridge Habitat Woods
Nature preserve
20 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Who protects it
673 conserved acres
3% of Marcellus’ land. Who manages Marcellus’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits424 ac
County175 ac
Town or city52 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)22 ac
Unknown Easement · 229 acLocal Park · 227 acPrivate Conservation · 195 acConservation Easement · 22 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 251 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 4 of 10 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baltimore Woods Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 175 | Closed |
| Onondaga County Land Local Park | County | 139 | Unknown |
| Town Of Marcellus Land Local Park | Town or city | 40 | Unknown |
| County Of Onondaga Land Local Park | County | 35 | Unknown |
| Holdrige Habitat Woods Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 20 | Closed |
| Town, Of Marcellus Land Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Unknown |
| Baseball Field Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Soccer Field Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
Things to do
7 places to go in Marcellus
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Marcellus
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Marcellus
1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Waterfalls in Marcellus
Marcellus Falls
DirectionsPeaks in Marcellus
Howlett Hill1,129 ft elevation
DirectionsBaker Hill1,083 ft elevation
DirectionsBishop Hill843 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
13 named trails and 4 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 6.5 mi
Boundary Trail1.6 mi
Field-to-Forest Trail0.7 mi
Overlook Trail0.6 mi
Arboretum Trail0.4 mi
Fred's Trail0.3 mi
Griffiths Trail0.3 mi
Upper Valley Trail0.2 mi
Backyard Wildlife Trail0.2 mi
Harrison Loop0.2 mi
Orange Trail0.2 mi
3 more trails
Lower Valley Trail
0.2 miPioneer Trail
0.2 miFaust Wildflower Garden Path
0.1 miLakes & 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
7Tennis
6Baseball
3Soccer
2Football
2Basketball
1Beach volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →2 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 3 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The best walking months in Marcellus: 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) | 9.3 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.6 | 15.3 | 15.0 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.7 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 30 | 32 | 41 | 54 | 67 | 75 | 79 | 78 | 71 | 58 | 46 | 35 |
| Rain (in) | 2.8 | 2.5 | 3.1 | 3.6 | 3.6 | 4.2 | 4.3 | 3.9 | 3.9 | 4.3 | 3.4 | 3.3 |
February is the driest month (2.5 in) and July the warmest (highs of 79 °F). 4.3 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Marcellus →
Next door
Marcellus 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marcellus | 3% | 0.3 | 88 | 62% | B |
| Skaneateles | 2% | 0.4 | 10 | 50% | C+ |
| Onondaga | 2% | 0.3 | 10 | 43% | C+ |
| Camillus | 8% | 0.3 | 33 | 82% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Marcellus
Where can I hike in Marcellus?
The longest trail networks: Baltimore Woods Nature Center, 5.1 miles; Marcellus Park, 2.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Marcellus is conserved land?
3% 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 Marcellus’ trails?
Baltimore Woods Nature Center and Marcellus Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Marcellus?
9,720 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Marcellus or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 529 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Marcellus have?
Ahead of 63% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #416 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 Marcellus 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 →