Wellesley Island State Park
Managed by New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation
2,548 acres3.7 mi of trail
Dogs on leash
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Rock Island Light Station · Photo: Oralrobert33 · CC BY-SA 4.0B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Orleans
Orleans has 2,961 acres of parks, 1,066 for every 1,000 residents
18% of Orleans’ land is conserved, about 8,056 acres. The biggest trail networks: Wellesley Island State Park (3.7 mi). 21% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 67% of U.S. towns · #374 of 758 in New York. What drives it
Conserved land
18%
8,056 acres · of 71.3 sq mi of land
Trails
12 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
2,961 ac
1,066 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
21%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
394 ft
Dog Hill
What kind of outdoors town is Orleans?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Orleans have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Orleans is ahead of 67% of U.S. towns, #374 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 Orleans’ overall grade.
Conserved land18% of the land · typical NY town 5% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (12 mi) · NY 0.4 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land1,066 acres of park per 1,000 residents (2,961 acres) · NY 31 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home21% 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 67%
LessMore
New York towns of 2,500+ (758)Ahead of 51%
Water is 8% of Orleans’ area (7 of 78 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 16%.
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 Wellesley Island State Park, with 3.7 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Perch River Wildlife Management Area
Nature preserve
4,490 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Grass Point State Park
Managed by New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation
108 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Collins Landing Wildlife Management Area
Nature preserve
27 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
All 6 parks & preserves
Wellesley Island State Park2,548 acres · 3.7 mi of trail · New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation
DirectionsPerch River Wildlife Management Area4,490 acres
Grass Point State Park108 acres · New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation
Collins Landing Wildlife Management Area27 acres
Dewolf Point State Park11 acres · New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation
Rock Island Lighthouse State Park2 acres · New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation
Who protects it
8,056 conserved acres
18% of Orleans’ land. Water is left out: Orleans has 71.3 square miles of land and 6.5 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Orleans’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State conservation4,526 ac
State parks2,901 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits436 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)266 ac
Regional Water Districts33 ac
Town or city1 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government1 ac
State Resource Management Area · 4,526 acState Park · 2,901 acConservation Easement · 573 acPrivate Conservation · 129 acLocal Resource Management Area · 34 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 465 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 21 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Perch River Wma State Resource Management Area | State conservation | 4,499 | Open |
| Wellesley Island State Park State Park | State parks | 2,768 | Open |
| Thousand Islands Land Trust Land Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 129 | Closed |
| Grass Point State Park State Park | State parks | 110 | Open |
| Lafargeville Water And Sewer Lands Local Resource Management Area | Regional Water Districts | 33 | Open |
| Collins Landing Wma State Resource Management Area | State conservation | 28 | Open |
| Dewolf Point State Park State Park | State parks | 15 | Open |
| Waterson Point State Park State Park | State parks | 6 | Open |
| Rock Island Lighthouse State Park State Park | State parks | 2 | Open |
| Orleans Town of Land Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Unknown |
1 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
8 places to go in Orleans
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Orleans
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Orleans
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Scenic views in Orleans
4 scenic views without a name on the map.
Peaks in Orleans
Dog Hill394 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
3 named trails
Named trails
Unpaved · 1.2 mi
Sissy Danforth Rivergate Trail5.0 mi
Blue Dot path0.3 mi
Dominion Street West0.2 mi
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.
Sissy Danforth Rivergate TrailBike route
5 miCourts & fields
3Baseball
2Tennis
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →20 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Stone Mills Union ChurchBuilding · listed 1976
About itRock Island Light StationBuilding · listed 1978
About itIrwin Brothers StoreBuilding · listed 1983
About itLa Farge Land OfficeBuilding · listed 1996
About itLa Fargeville United Methodist ChurchBuilding · listed 1996
About itMethodist Episcopal ChurchBuilding · listed 1996
About itMethodist-Protestant Church at Fisher's LandingBuilding · listed 1996
About itButtermilk Flat Schoolhouse No. 22Building · listed 1996
About itCarter Street Schoolhouse No. 21Building · listed 1996
About itElijah Horr HouseBuilding · listed 1996
About itSt. Paul's EpiscopalBuilding · listed 1996
About itThousand Island Grange HallBuilding · listed 1996
About it8 more on the History page.
When to get out
The best walking months in Orleans: 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) | 9.2 | 10.4 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.8 | 15.5 | 15.2 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.5 | 8.9 |
| High (°F) | 28 | 30 | 40 | 54 | 67 | 75 | 80 | 79 | 71 | 58 | 46 | 34 |
| Rain (in) | 3.3 | 2.5 | 2.7 | 3.3 | 3.2 | 3.6 | 3.2 | 3.5 | 3.8 | 4.4 | 3.6 | 3.4 |
February is the driest month (2.5 in) and July the warmest (highs of 80 °F). 4.4 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Orleans →
Next door
Orleans and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Clayton32 miLe Ray28 miTheresa18 miOrleans12 miAlexandria7.4 miPamelia4.7 miBrownville4.1 miThousand Island Park0.7 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orleans | 18% | 0.2 | 1,066 | 21% | B+ |
| Pamelia | 9% | 0.1 | 1 | 11% | C |
| Clayton | 14% | 0.4 | 269 | 40% | A− |
| Alexandria | 6% | 0.1 | 100 | 41% | B |
| Thousand Island Park | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Theresa | 7% | 0.3 | 208 | 37% | B+ |
| Le Ray | under 1% | 0.4 | 8 | 36% | C |
| Brownville | 7% | 0.1 | 33 | 45% | B− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Orleans
Where can I hike in Orleans?
The longest trail networks: Wellesley Island State Park, 3.7 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Orleans is conserved land?
18% 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 Orleans’ trails?
OpenStreetMap records dogs as welcome at Wellesley Island State Park (on leash). For the rest, check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Orleans?
21,562 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Orleans or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 7,517 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Orleans have?
Ahead of 67% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #374 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 Orleans 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 →