Old Erie Canal State Historic Park
Managed by New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation
65 acres1.2 mi of trail
Erie Canalway Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Photo: scanned by Dave Parker · Public domainB+Outdoors
Outdoors in Oneida
Oneida has 359 acres of parks, 35 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Old Erie Canal State Historic Park (1.2 mi). 16 miles of mapped trail cross Oneida, 0.7 per square mile of land. 87% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 74% of U.S. towns · #301 of 758 in New York. What drives it
Conserved land
2%
328 acres · of 22.1 sq mi of land
Trails
16 mi
0.7 per sq mi of land
Park land
359 ac
35 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
87%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
2
What kind of outdoors town is Oneida?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Oneida have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Oneida is ahead of 74% of U.S. towns, #301 of 758 in New York. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Oneida’s overall grade.
Conserved land2% of the land · typical NY town 5% · U.S. 4%C+Trails0.7 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (16 mi) · NY 0.4 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land35 acres of park per 1,000 residents (359 acres) · NY 31 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home87% 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 74%
LessMore
New York towns of 2,500+ (758)Ahead of 60%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ 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 Old Erie Canal State Historic Park, with 1.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
All 9 parks & preserves
Old Erie Canal State Historic Park65 acres · 1.2 mi of trail · New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation
Allen Park10 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
Maxwell Field10 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Mount Hope Reservoir113 acres
Veterans Memorial Playfield13 acres
DirectionsHarmon Field8 acres
DirectionsArmy Carinci Park5 acres
Higinbotham Park1 acres
DirectionsLincoln Park1 acres
Who protects it
328 conserved acres
2% of Oneida’s land. Who manages Oneida’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city347 ac
State parks66 ac
American Indian Lands29 ac
Local Park · 347 acState Historic or Cultural Area · 66 acNative American Land Area · 29 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 3 of 12 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| City of Oneida Land Local Park | Town or city | 209 | Unknown |
| Old Erie Canal State Historic Park State Historic or Cultural Area | State parks | 66 | Open |
| Mount Hope Reservoir Park Local Park | Town or city | 63 | Open |
| Oneida Indian Nation Reservation Native American Land Area | American Indian Lands | 29 | Unknown |
| Du Ross Conservancy Local Park | Town or city | 18 | Open |
| Harmon Field Local Park | Town or city | 17 | Open |
| Veterans Memorial Park Local Park | Town or city | 13 | Open |
| Maxwell Field Local Park | Town or city | 11 | Open |
| Allen Park Local Park | Town or city | 9 | Open |
| Army Carinci Park Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
1 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
2 places to go in Oneida
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in Oneida
Veterans Memorial PoolIn Veterans Memorial Playfield
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Oneida
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
3 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 4.4 miHorses · 2.2 miUnpaved · 2.6 mi
Erie Canalway Trail2.2 mi
Oneida Rail Trail2.0 mi
West Shore Railroad0.5 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.
ECT - Erie Canalway Trail - 3 DeWitt to Green IslandBike route
2.2 miCourts & fields
13Baseball
1Soccer
1Football
1Tennis
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →9 places on the National Register, one a National Historic Landmark
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.
Cottage LawnBuilding · listed 1980
About itMain-Broad-Grove Streets Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1983
About itUS Post Office-OneidaBuilding · listed 1989
About itOneida ArmoryBuilding · listed 1995
About itMount Hope ReservoirSite · listed 1997
About itDeFerriere HouseBuilding · listed 2007
About itOneida Downtown Commercial Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2018
About itOneida Community Limited Administration BuildingBuilding · listed 2020
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Oneida: May and July 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 | 15.3 | 15.1 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 31 | 33 | 42 | 56 | 69 | 77 | 82 | 80 | 73 | 60 | 47 | 36 |
| Rain (in) | 2.7 | 2.3 | 2.9 | 3.5 | 3.8 | 4.2 | 4.0 | 3.9 | 3.6 | 4.2 | 3.3 | 3.2 |
February is the driest month (2.3 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 4.2 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Oneida →
Next door
Oneida and its neighbors
Oneida has the second most mapped trails of the 8 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Verona41 miOneida16 miVernon12 miLenox12 miLincoln7.4 miStockbridge2.9 miDurhamville0.1 miOneida Castle0.0 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oneida | 2% | 0.7 | 35 | 87% | B+ |
| Vernon | under 1% | 0.3 | 12 | 65% | C+ |
| Verona | 7% | 0.6 | 500 | 44% | A− |
| Oneida Castle | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Durhamville | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Lenox | 8% | 0.3 | 22 | 72% | B+ |
| Lincoln | 1% | 0.3 | 113 | 29% | B− |
| Stockbridge | under 1% | 0.1 | under 1 | under 1% | D− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Oneida
Where can I hike in Oneida?
The longest trail networks: Old Erie Canal State Historic Park, 1.2 miles; Allen Park, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Oneida 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 Oneida’s trails?
Old Erie Canal State Historic Park and Mount Hope Reservoir don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Oneida?
9,271 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Oneida or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 359 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Oneida have?
Ahead of 74% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #301 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 Oneida 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 →