High Tor Wildlife Management Area
Managed by New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
850 acres3.1 mi of trail
Lehigh Valley Rail-Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Bates Cobblestone Farmhouse · Photo: Araucana · CC BY-SA 4.0BOutdoors
Outdoors in Middlesex
Middlesex has 360 acres of parks, 256 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: High Tor Wildlife Management Area (3.1 mi), Bare Hill Unique Area (2.5 mi), High Tor Wildlife Management Area - Clark Gully (0.7 mi). 7% of Middlesex’s land is conserved, about 1,451 acres. 22% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 62% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
7%
1,451 acres · of 30.9 sq mi of land
Trails
7.9 mi
0.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
360 ac
256 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
22%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
1,886 ft
South Hill
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Middlesex?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Middlesex have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Middlesex is ahead of 62% 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 Middlesex’s overall grade.
Conserved land7% 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 land256 acres of park per 1,000 residents (360 acres) · NY 31 · U.S. 13AParks close to home22% 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 62%
LessMore
Water is 9% of Middlesex’s area (3 of 34 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 7%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ 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 High Tor WMA, with 3.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Bare Hill Unique Area
Managed by New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
300 acres2.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
High Tor Wildlife Management Area - Clark Gully
Nature preserve
67 acres0.7 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Great Hill Nature Preserve
Managed by Finger Lakes Land Trust
289 acres0.6 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Who protects it
1,451 conserved acres
7% of Middlesex’s land. Water is left out: Middlesex has 30.9 square miles of land and 3.2 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Middlesex’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State conservation1,274 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits146 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)18 ac
Private owners10 ac
Regional Water Districts3 ac
State Resource Management Area · 919 acState Conservation Area · 355 acPrivate Conservation · 146 acConservation Easement · 18 acPrivate Other or Unknown · 10 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 18 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 8 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| High Tor Wma State Resource Management Area | State conservation | 852 | Open |
| Bare Hill Unique Area State Conservation Area | State conservation | 355 | Open |
| Great Hill Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 146 | Closed |
| High Tor Wma - Clark Gully State Resource Management Area | State conservation | 68 | Open |
| Private Lands Private Other or Unknown | Private owners | 10 | Closed |
| Middlesex Water Dist Land Local Other or Unknown | Regional Water Districts | 3 | Unknown |
Things to do
3 places to go in Middlesex
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Peaks in Middlesex
South Hill1,886 ft elevation
DirectionsEast Hill1,601 ft elevation
DirectionsBare Hill1,542 ft elevation · In Bare Hill Unique Area
DirectionsTrails & water
2 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 4.6 mi
Lehigh Valley Rail-Trail1.5 mi
East Shore Preserve Trail0.1 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
1Multi-sport
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →6 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Bates Cobblestone FarmhouseBuilding · listed 1992
About itAsahel Green FarmBuilding · listed 1994
About itJohn Carr HouseBuilding · listed 1994
About itMiddlesex Center Methodist ChurchBuilding · listed 1994
About itOverackers Corners SchoolhouseBuilding · listed 1994
About itVine Valley Methodist ChurchBuilding · listed 1994
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Middlesex: 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) | 9.4 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.6 | 15.3 | 15.0 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 32 | 34 | 43 | 56 | 69 | 77 | 81 | 79 | 73 | 60 | 48 | 37 |
| Rain (in) | 2.0 | 1.7 | 2.3 | 2.8 | 3.2 | 3.6 | 3.8 | 3.4 | 3.4 | 3.5 | 2.5 | 2.3 |
February is the driest month (1.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 81 °F). 3.8 inches fall in July, the wettest month. The climate in Middlesex →
Next door
Middlesex 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Middlesex | 7% | 0.3 | 256 | 22% | B |
| South Bristol | 9% | 1.2 | 252 | 14% | A− |
| Potter | under 1% | 0.1 | 4 | 4% | D |
| Gorham | 1% | under 0.1 | 2 | 29% | D |
| Canandaigua | — 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 Middlesex
Where can I hike in Middlesex?
The longest trail networks: High Tor Wildlife Management Area, 3.1 miles; Bare Hill Unique Area, 2.5 miles; High Tor Wildlife Management Area - Clark Gully, 0.7 miles; Great Hill Nature Preserve, 0.6 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Middlesex 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 Middlesex’s trails?
High Tor Wildlife Management Area and Bare Hill Unique Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Middlesex?
16,459 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Middlesex or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,279 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Middlesex have?
Ahead of 62% 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 Middlesex 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 →