Basswood State Forest
Managed by New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
921 acres2.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Photo: Doug Kerr from Upstate New York · CC BY-SA 2.0B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Oxford
Oxford has 2,727 acres of parks, 769 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Basswood State Forest (2.4 mi), Wiley Brook State Forest (1.7 mi). 8% of Oxford’s land is conserved, about 2,968 acres. 11 miles of mapped trail cross Oxford, 0.2 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 71% of U.S. towns · #339 of 758 in New York. What drives it
Conserved land
8%
2,968 acres · of 60.1 sq mi of land
Trails
11 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
2,727 ac
769 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
55%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
1,742 ft
Mowry Hill
Lakes & rivers
6
What kind of outdoors town is Oxford?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Oxford have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Oxford is ahead of 71% of U.S. towns, #339 of 758 in New York. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Oxford’s overall grade.
Conserved land8% of the land · typical NY town 5% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (11 mi) · NY 0.4 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land769 acres of park per 1,000 residents (2,727 acres) · NY 31 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home55% 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 71%
LessMore
New York towns of 2,500+ (758)Ahead of 55%
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 Basswood State Forest, with 2.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Wiley Brook State Forest
Managed by New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
893 acres1.7 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Lyon Brook State Forest
Managed by New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
418 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Coventry State Forest
Nature preserve
317 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
All 5 parks & preserves
Basswood State Forest921 acres · 2.4 mi of trail · New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
Wiley Brook State Forest893 acres · 1.7 mi of trail · New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
Lyon Brook State Forest418 acres · New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
Coventry State Forest317 acres
Washington Park1 acres
Who protects it
2,968 conserved acres
8% of Oxford’s land. Who manages Oxford’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State conservation2,565 ac
Other state land190 ac
Town or city112 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)65 ac
County37 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government1 ac
State Conservation Area · 2,565 acState Resource Management Area · 190 acLocal Park · 148 acConservation Easement · 65 acLocal Resource Management Area · 1 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 65 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 2 of 11 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basswood State Forest State Conservation Area | State conservation | 925 | Open |
| Wiley Brook State Forest State Conservation Area | State conservation | 900 | Open |
| Lyon Brook State Forest State Conservation Area | State conservation | 421 | Open |
| Coventry State Forest State Conservation Area | State conservation | 320 | Open |
| New York State Veterans and Dependents Home State Resource Management Area | Other state land | 190 | Open |
| Village of Oxford Land Local Park | Town or city | 112 | Unknown |
| County of Chenango Land Local Park | County | 36 | Unknown |
| Oxford Village Lands Local Resource Management Area | Other or Unknown Local Government | 1 | Open |
| Chenango County Lands Local Conservation Area | County | 1 | Restricted |
Things to do
9 places to go in Oxford
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Oxford
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Peaks in Oxford
Mowry Hill1,742 ft elevation
DirectionsMiller Hill1,624 ft elevation
DirectionsMidland Hill1,604 ft elevation
DirectionsRoys Hill1,535 ft elevation
DirectionsBurnt Hill1,430 ft elevation
DirectionsBradley Hill1,381 ft elevation
DirectionsGamble Roof Hill1,332 ft elevation
DirectionsPainter Hill1,312 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
6 lakes & rivers
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.
Courts & fields
5Baseball
5Tennis
1Basketball
1Soccer
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →4 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
When to get out
The best walking months in Oxford: May 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) | 9.4 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.6 | 15.3 | 15.0 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.1 |
| High (°F) | 31 | 34 | 42 | 56 | 69 | 77 | 81 | 79 | 72 | 60 | 47 | 36 |
| Rain (in) | 2.9 | 2.5 | 3.3 | 3.7 | 3.8 | 4.7 | 4.4 | 4.4 | 4.1 | 4.1 | 3.3 | 3.4 |
February is the driest month (2.5 in) and July the warmest (highs of 81 °F). 4.7 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Oxford →
Next door
Oxford and its neighbors
Oxford has the most mapped trails of the 7 towns around it. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oxford | 8% | 0.2 | 769 | 55% | B+ |
| Guilford | 5% | under 0.1 | 673 | 21% | B− |
| Coventry | 11% | under 0.1 | 2,539 | 41% | B |
| Preston | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Smithville | 26% | 0.2 | 5,471 | 56% | A− |
| Greene | 1% | under 0.1 | 124 | 35% | C+ |
| Norwich | 1% | 0.1 | 105 | 31% | C+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Oxford
Where can I hike in Oxford?
The longest trail networks: Basswood State Forest, 2.4 miles; Wiley Brook State Forest, 1.7 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Oxford is conserved land?
8% 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 Oxford’s trails?
Basswood State Forest and Wiley Brook State Forest don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Oxford?
51,592 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Oxford or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 2,917 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Oxford have?
Ahead of 71% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #339 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 Oxford 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 →