Old Croton Aqueduct State Park
Park
23 acres1.8 mi of trail
Old Croton Aqueduct Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: Daniel Case · CC BY-SA 3.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Ossining
12% of Ossining’s land is conserved, and virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park. 5.0 miles of mapped trail cross Ossining, 1.6 per square mile of land. 12% of Ossining’s land is conserved, about 237 acres.
Ahead of 85% of U.S. towns · #176 of 758 in New York. What drives it
Conserved land
12%
237 acres · of 3.2 sq mi of land
Trails
5.0 mi
1.6 per sq mi of land
Park land
138 ac
5.1 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
2.6 mi
1.6 mi lanes
Lakes & rivers
1
2 beaches · 2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Ossining?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Ossining have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Ossining is ahead of 85% of U.S. towns, #176 of 758 in New York. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Ossining’s overall grade.
Conserved land12% of the land · typical NY town 5% · U.S. 4%A−Trails1.6 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (5 mi) · NY 0.4 · U.S. 0.4APark land5.1 acres of park per 1,000 residents (138 acres) · NY 31 · U.S. 13CParks close to homeVirtually all residents within a half mile of a park · NY 70% · U.S. 72%A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 85%
LessMore
New York towns of 2,500+ (758)Ahead of 77%
Water is more than half of Ossining’s area (3 of 6 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 6%.
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 Croton Aqueduct State Park, with 1.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Crawbuckie Nature Preserve
Managed by Town of Ossining
34 acres1.1 mi of trail
Hudson LoopChickadee Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Louis Engel Waterfront Park
Managed by Village of Ossining
6 acres0.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Veterans Memorial Park
Park
16 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 9 parks & preserves
Old Croton Aqueduct State Park23 acres · 1.8 mi of trail
DirectionsCrawbuckie Nature Preserve34 acres · 1.1 mi of trail · Town of Ossining
DirectionsLouis Engel Waterfront Park6 acres · 0.5 mi of trail · Village of Ossining
DirectionsRichard Wishnie Park4 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsVeterans Memorial Park16 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsTommy Thurber Preserve12 acres
Nelson Park9 acres
DirectionsNelson Sitting Park3 acres
DirectionsSnowden Park2 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
237 conserved acres
12% of Ossining’s land. Water is left out: Ossining has 3.2 square miles of land and 3.3 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Ossining’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city104 ac
Other state land65 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits49 ac
State parks26 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government19 ac
Local Park · 123 acState Resource Management Area · 65 acOther Easement · 29 acState Historic or Cultural Area · 26 acPrivate Conservation · 20 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 28 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 5 of 16 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Village Of Ossining Land Local Park | Town or city | 78 | Unknown |
| Sing Sing State Correctional Facility State Resource Management Area | Other state land | 65 | Open |
| Old Croton Aqueduct State Historic Park State Historic or Cultural Area | State parks | 26 | Open |
| Crawbuckie Nature Center Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 17 | Open |
| Town of Ossining Land Local Park | Town or city | 15 | Unknown |
| Tommy Thurber Memorial Sanctuary Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 10 | Closed |
| Tommy Thurber Memorial Preserve Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 10 | Closed |
| Engel Park Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Open |
| Sparta Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Village Of Briarcliff Manor Land Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Unknown |
1 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
19 places to go in Ossining
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Ossining
2 beaches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Playgrounds in Ossining
11 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Boat launches in Ossining
2 boat launches without a name on the map.
Scenic views in Ossining
Ossining Double Arch viewing platform
DirectionsPlus 3 scenic views without a name on the map.
Trails & water
6 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 1.9 miUnpaved · 3.0 mi
Old Croton Aqueduct Trail1.8 mi
Hudson Loop0.7 mi
Briarcliff-Peekskill Trail0.3 mi
Brookside Trail0.2 mi
Chickadee Trail0.1 mi
Sing Sing Kill Greenway0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
2.6 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.6 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
0.9 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
12Tennis
7Basketball
7Baseball
7Pickleball
2Soccer
1Skate park
1Multi-sport
1Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Ossining: April to June, 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) | 9.5 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.5 | 15.1 | 14.9 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.2 |
| High (°F) | 38 | 41 | 49 | 62 | 72 | 80 | 85 | 83 | 76 | 65 | 53 | 43 |
| Rain (in) | 3.4 | 2.8 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 3.9 | 4.5 | 4.6 | 4.4 | 4.6 | 4.5 | 3.7 | 4.1 |
February is the driest month (2.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 85 °F). 4.6 inches fall in July, the wettest month. The climate in Ossining →
Next door
Ossining 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ossining | 12% | 1.6 | 5 | 99%+ | A |
| Briarcliff Manor | 6% | 1.9 | 31 | 97% | A |
| Croton-on-Hudson | 24% | 3.7 | 91 | 99%+ | A+ |
| Cortlandt | 23% | 1.8 | 106 | 94% | A+ |
| Clarkstown | 15% | 1.0 | 42 | 89% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Ossining
Where can I hike in Ossining?
The longest trail networks: Old Croton Aqueduct State Park, 1.8 miles; Crawbuckie Nature Preserve, 1.1 miles; Louis Engel Waterfront Park, 0.5 miles; Veterans Memorial Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Ossining is conserved land?
12% 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 Ossining’s trails?
Old Croton Aqueduct State Park and Crawbuckie Nature Preserve don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Ossining?
2.6 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.6 of painted or protected lanes and 0.9 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Ossining?
43,821 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Ossining or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 204 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Ossining have?
Ahead of 85% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #176 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 Ossining 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 →