Onondaga Escarpment Unique Area
Managed by New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
50 acres1.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trailheadWebsite ↗
Photo: Mitchazenia · CC BY-SA 4.0BOutdoors
Outdoors in Newstead
Newstead has 462 acres of parks, 53 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Onondaga Escarpment Unique Area (1.3 mi), Akron Falls Park (0.7 mi). 24 miles of mapped trail cross Newstead, 0.5 per square mile of land. 46% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 59% of U.S. towns · #457 of 758 in New York. What drives it
Conserved land
2%
764 acres · of 50.8 sq mi of land
Trails
24 mi
0.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
462 ac
53 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
46%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
8.3 mi
8.3 mi paths
Highest peak
784 ft
East Hill
Lakes & rivers
2
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Newstead have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Newstead is ahead of 59% of U.S. towns, #457 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 Newstead’s overall grade.
Conserved land2% of the land · typical NY town 5% · U.S. 4%C+Trails0.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (24 mi) · NY 0.4 · U.S. 0.4BPark land53 acres of park per 1,000 residents (462 acres) · NY 31 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home46% 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 59%
LessMore
New York towns of 2,500+ (758)Ahead of 40%
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 Onondaga Escarpment Unique Area, with 1.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Akron Falls Park
Managed by Erie County Parks Dept
145 acres0.7 mi of trail
Conservation Trail (FLT)
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Tonawanda Wildlife Management Area
Nature preserve
131 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
All 5 parks & preserves
Onondaga Escarpment Unique Area50 acres · 1.3 mi of trail · New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
DirectionsAkron Falls Park145 acres · 0.7 mi of trail · Erie County Parks Dept
DirectionsRussell Park2 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsTonawanda Wildlife Management Area131 acres
DirectionsNewstead Veterans Park32 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
764 conserved acres
2% of Newstead’s land. Who manages Newstead’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County437 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits329 ac
Town or city275 ac
State conservation183 ac
American Indian Lands10 ac
Local Park · 677 acPrivate Conservation · 329 acState Resource Management Area · 133 acState Conservation Area · 50 acLocal Recreation Area · 34 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 4 of 12 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Akron Falls County Park Local Park | County | 285 | Open |
| Town Of Newstead Land Local Park | Town or city | 239 | Unknown |
| Counterfeiter's Ledge Preserve Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 164 | Open |
| Counterfeiter'S Ledge Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 164 | Restricted |
| County Park Lands Local Park | County | 152 | Open |
| Tonawanda Wma State Resource Management Area | State conservation | 133 | Open |
| Onondaga Escarpment Unique Area State Conservation Area | State conservation | 50 | Open |
| Newstead Veterans Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 34 | Open |
| Tonawanda Indian Reservation Native American Land Area | American Indian Lands | 10 | Unknown |
| Village Russell Park Land Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Unknown |
Things to do
21 places to go in Newstead
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Newstead
15 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Waterfalls in Newstead
Akron FallsIn Akron Falls Park
DirectionsUpper Akron FallsIn Akron Falls Park
DirectionsScenic views in Newstead
Akron FallsIn Akron Falls Park
DirectionsPlus 2 scenic views without a name on the map.
Peaks in Newstead
East Hill784 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
1 named trail and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 2.0 mi
Conservation Trail (FLT)0.5 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
8.3 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
8.3 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
12Baseball
12Soccer
5Tennis
2Basketball
1Golf
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). The map also marks 1 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The best walking months in Newstead: May to August
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 | 15.1 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 32 | 34 | 43 | 56 | 68 | 77 | 81 | 80 | 73 | 60 | 48 | 37 |
| Rain (in) | 2.8 | 2.2 | 2.6 | 3.4 | 3.3 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.9 | 3.7 | 3.2 | 3.2 |
February is the driest month (2.2 in) and July the warmest (highs of 81 °F). 3.9 inches fall in September, the wettest month. The climate in Newstead →
Next door
Newstead and its neighbors
Newstead has the most mapped trails of the 6 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Questions about parks and trails in Newstead
Where can I hike in Newstead?
The longest trail networks: Onondaga Escarpment Unique Area, 1.3 miles; Akron Falls Park, 0.7 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Newstead is conserved land?
2% 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 Newstead’s trails?
Onondaga Escarpment Unique Area and Akron Falls Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Newstead?
8.3 miles of bike routes are on the map: 8.3 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Newstead?
17,455 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Newstead or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 596 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Newstead have?
Ahead of 59% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #457 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 Newstead 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 →