Veterans Memorial Park
Park
70 acres1.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Town of Niagara District School No. 2 · Photo: Pubdog · Public domainBOutdoors
Outdoors in Niagara
Niagara has 174 acres of parks, 22 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Veterans Memorial Park (1.1 mi), Reservoir State Park (0.7 mi). 4.8 miles of mapped trail cross Niagara, 0.5 per square mile of land. 57% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 58% of U.S. towns · #469 of 758 in New York. What drives it
Conserved land
3%
169 acres · of 9.5 sq mi of land
Trails
4.8 mi
0.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
174 ac
22 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
57%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.1 mi
0.1 mi lanes
Lakes & rivers
2
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Niagara have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Niagara is ahead of 58% of U.S. towns, #469 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 Niagara’s overall grade.
Conserved land3% of the land · typical NY town 5% · U.S. 4%B−Trails0.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (5 mi) · NY 0.4 · U.S. 0.4BPark land22 acres of park per 1,000 residents (174 acres) · NY 31 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home57% 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 58%
LessMore
New York towns of 2,500+ (758)Ahead of 38%
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 Veterans Memorial Park, with 1.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Reservoir State Park
Managed by New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation
34 acres0.7 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Who protects it
169 conserved acres
3% of Niagara’s land. Who manages Niagara’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city132 ac
State parks35 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government1 ac
Local Park · 132 acState Park · 35 acLocal Resource Management Area · 1 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 3 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Town of Niagara Land Local Park | Town or city | 132 | Unknown |
| Reservoir State Park State Park | State parks | 35 | Open |
| Niagara Town Lands Local Resource Management Area | Other or Unknown Local Government | 1 | Open |
Things to do
5 places to go in Niagara
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Niagara
Sharpe Playground
DirectionsPlus 3 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Niagara
Barking LotIn Veterans Memorial Park
DirectionsTrails & water
1 named trail and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 1.9 mi
Nature trail0.9 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.1 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.1 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
Courts & fields
7Baseball
4Basketball
2Tennis
2Soccer
1Volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Town of Niagara District School No. 2Building · listed 2005
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Niagara: 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 | 14.6 | 15.4 | 15.1 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 32 | 34 | 42 | 55 | 68 | 77 | 81 | 80 | 73 | 60 | 48 | 37 |
| Rain (in) | 2.6 | 2.1 | 2.5 | 3.3 | 3.3 | 3.3 | 3.5 | 3.0 | 3.6 | 3.5 | 2.9 | 2.8 |
February is the driest month (2.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 81 °F). 3.6 inches fall in September, the wettest month. The climate in Niagara →
Next door
Niagara 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Niagara | 3% | 0.5 | 22 | 57% | B |
| Niagara Falls | 12% | 1.1 | 22 | 99%+ | A |
| Lewiston | 3% | 0.7 | 88 | 53% | B+ |
| Wheatfield | 1% | 0.1 | 14 | 67% | C |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Niagara
Where can I hike in Niagara?
The longest trail networks: Veterans Memorial Park, 1.1 miles; Reservoir State Park, 0.7 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Niagara 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 Niagara’s trails?
Veterans Memorial Park and Reservoir State Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Niagara?
0.1 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.1 of painted or protected lanes.
Is there public land near Niagara?
10,124 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Niagara or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 174 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Niagara have?
Ahead of 58% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #469 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 Niagara 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 →