Pleasant Valley Preserve
Managed by Central New York Land Trust
206 acres1.8 mi of trail
Red LoopOrange TrailWhite Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Photo: Joegrimes at English Wikipedia · Public domainC+Outdoors
Outdoors in Onondaga
Onondaga has 19 miles of mapped trails, 0.3 for every square mile of land
The biggest trail networks: Pleasant Valley Preserve (1.8 mi), Edgecliff Park (1.1 mi), Split Rock Unique Area (0.6 mi). 43% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 2% of Onondaga’s land is conserved, about 725 acres.
Ahead of 39% of U.S. towns · #638 of 758 in New York. What drives it
Conserved land
2%
725 acres · of 57.6 sq mi of land
Trails
19 mi
0.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
233 ac
10 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
43%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
2.4 mi
1.9 mi lanes
Highest peak
1,427 ft
Miller Hill
Lakes & rivers
2
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Onondaga have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Onondaga is ahead of 39% of U.S. towns, #638 of 758 in New York. Trail miles hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
C+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Onondaga’s overall grade.
Conserved land2% of the land · typical NY town 5% · U.S. 4%C+Trails0.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (19 mi) · NY 0.4 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land10 acres of park per 1,000 residents (233 acres) · NY 31 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to home43% 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 39%
LessMore
New York towns of 2,500+ (758)Ahead of 16%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C 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 Pleasant Valley Preserve, with 1.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Edgecliff Park
Managed by Onondaga County Parks
42 acres1.1 mi of trail
Auburn-Syracuse Trolley
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Split Rock Unique Area
Nature preserve
32 acres0.6 mi of trail
Auburn-Syracuse Trolley
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Lockwood Properties
Managed by Central New York Land Trust
91 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 12 parks & preserves
Pleasant Valley Preserve206 acres · 1.8 mi of trail · Central New York Land Trust
Edgecliff Park42 acres · 1.1 mi of trail · Onondaga County Parks
DirectionsSplit Rock Unique Area32 acres · 0.6 mi of trail
Kelley Brothers Memorial Park6 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Lockwood Properties91 acres · Central New York Land Trust
Herbert Luke Sanger Wildlife Preserve24 acres
Bigsby Drumlin18 acres · Central New York Land Trust
DirectionsAnthony J. Santaro Memorial Park16 acres
DirectionsKing Memorial Park16 acres
Pumpkin Hollow11 acres
Howlett Hill Park8 acres
South Onondaga Marsh8 acres
Who protects it
725 conserved acres
2% of Onondaga’s land. Who manages Onondaga’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits439 ac
Town or city124 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)79 ac
County37 ac
State conservation34 ac
Regional agency33 ac
American Indian Lands16 ac
Private Conservation · 362 acLocal Park · 172 acConservation Easement · 79 acUnknown Easement · 77 acState Conservation Area · 34 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 119 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 8 of 23 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pleasant Valley Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 204 | Closed |
| Lockwood Properties Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 84 | Closed |
| City Of Syracuse Land Local Park | Town or city | 46 | Open |
| Town Of Onondaga Land Local Park | Town or city | 41 | Unknown |
| Split Rock Unique Area State Conservation Area | State conservation | 34 | Open |
| County Of Onondaga Land Local Park | County | 29 | Unknown |
| Herbert Luke Sanger Wildlife Preserve Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 22 | Closed |
| Santaro Park Land Local Park | Town or city | 22 | Unknown |
| Westhill Central School Dist. Land Local Other or Unknown | Regional agency | 22 | Unknown |
| Bigsby Drumlin Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 19 | Closed |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
12 places to go in Onondaga
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Onondaga
10 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Peaks in Onondaga
Miller Hill1,427 ft elevation
DirectionsLords Hill915 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
4 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 2.1 miUnpaved · 5.2 mi
Auburn-Syracuse Trolley1.8 mi
Red Loop0.9 mi
Orange Trail0.6 mi
White Trail0.3 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
2.4 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.9 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
0.5 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
24Tennis
21Baseball
4Basketball
2Multi-sport
2Soccer
2Football
1Softball
1Lacrosse
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 Onondaga: 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 | 55 | 68 | 76 | 80 | 79 | 72 | 59 | 46 | 35 |
| Rain (in) | 2.8 | 2.5 | 3.0 | 3.6 | 3.6 | 4.2 | 4.1 | 3.9 | 3.8 | 4.3 | 3.4 | 3.3 |
February is the driest month (2.5 in) and July the warmest (highs of 80 °F). 4.3 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Onondaga →
Next door
Onondaga and its neighbors
Onondaga has the second most mapped trails of the 6 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Questions about parks and trails in Onondaga
Where can I hike in Onondaga?
The longest trail networks: Pleasant Valley Preserve, 1.8 miles; Edgecliff Park, 1.1 miles; Split Rock Unique Area, 0.6 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Onondaga 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 Onondaga’s trails?
Pleasant Valley Preserve and Edgecliff Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Onondaga?
2.4 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.9 of painted or protected lanes and 0.5 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Onondaga?
17,171 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Onondaga or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 233 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Onondaga have?
Ahead of 39% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #638 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 Onondaga 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 →