Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Photo: AITFFan1 · CC BY-SA 4.021% of Oyster Bay’s land is conserved, about 13,749 acres. 96% of residents live within a half mile of a park. The biggest trail networks: Bethpage State Park (36.8 mi), Muttontown Preserve (14.8 mi), Trail View State Park (11.3 mi).
Ahead of 96% of U.S. towns · #66 of 758 in New York. What drives it
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Oyster Bay is ahead of 96% of U.S. towns, #66 of 758 in New York. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; trail miles rank highest, park acres per resident lowest.
Among the 400 U.S. cities of 100,000 or more, Oyster Bay ranks #29 on Outdoors.
Water is 39% of Oyster Bay’s area (66 of 169 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 13%.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
The longest trail network is Bethpage State Park, with 36.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
21% of Oyster Bay’s land. Water is left out: Oyster Bay has 103.6 square miles of land and 65.7 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Oyster Bay’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 115 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 35 of 168 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Congressman Lester Wolff Oyster Bay National Wildlife Refuge National Wildlife Refuge | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 3,371 | Restricted |
| Oyster Bay National Wildlife Refuge National Wildlife Refuge | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 3,368 | Restricted |
| Caumsett State Historic Park Preserve State Historic or Cultural Area | State parks | 1,694 | Open |
| Jones Beach State Park State Park | State parks | 1,463 | Open |
| Bethpage State Park State Park | State parks | 1,396 | Open |
| COUNTY OF NASSAU Land Local Park | County | 1,036 | Unknown |
| Massapequa County Preserve Local Recreation Area | County | 558 | Open |
| Muttontown County Preserve Local Recreation Area | County | 514 | Open |
| Trail View State Park State Park | State parks | 421 | Open |
| Planting Fields Arboretum State Historic Park State Historic or Cultural Area | State parks | 419 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
35 beaches are on OpenStreetMap in all; the list shows named ones from the first 30.
3 swimming spots without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Plus 3 public pools without a name on the map.
298 playgrounds are on OpenStreetMap in all; the list shows named ones from the first 30.
Plus 1 dog park without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
17 boat launches without a name on the map.
4 fishing spots without a name on the map.
Plus 14 picnic areas without a name on the map.
Plus 1 community garden without a name on the map.
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 82 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
49 more on the History page.
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 | 13.2 | 14.4 | 15.1 | 14.8 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.3 |
| High (°F) | 40 | 42 | 49 | 60 | 70 | 79 | 84 | 83 | 76 | 65 | 54 | 45 |
| Rain (in) | 3.3 | 2.9 | 4.2 | 3.9 | 3.5 | 4.1 | 3.8 | 4.1 | 4.1 | 4.1 | 3.4 | 4.3 |
February is the driest month (2.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 4.3 inches fall in December, the wettest month. The climate in Oyster Bay →
Oyster Bay has the most mapped trails of the 8 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oyster Bay | 21% | 1.7 | 26 | 96% | A+ |
| Hempstead | 13% | 0.6 | 10 | 94% | A− |
| Huntington | 12% | 1.7 | 35 | 98% | A+ |
| Lloyd Harbor | 31% | 4.1 | 490 | 69% | A+ |
| Glen Cove | 11% | 1.6 | 17 | 94% | A |
| Levittown | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Babylon | 24% | 0.9 | 23 | 88% | A |
| North Hempstead | 7% | 0.5 | 10 | 99% | B+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
The longest trail networks: Bethpage State Park, 36.8 miles; Muttontown Preserve, 14.8 miles; Trail View State Park, 11.3 miles; Planting Fields Arboretum, 8.8 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
21% 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.
OpenStreetMap records dogs as welcome at Massapequa Preserve (on leash). For the rest, check the signs at the trailhead.
25 miles of bike routes are on the map: 3.2 of painted or protected lanes, 21 of off-road paths and 1.1 of shoulders and shared lanes. Named routes: CLIMB Red Trail.
52,971 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Oyster Bay or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 7,890 of them inside the town line.
Ahead of 96% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #66 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.
Conditions, parking and favorite walks from Oyster Bay neighbors.
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 →