Happy Valley Wildlife Management Area
Nature preserve
2,441 acres5.6 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
B−Outdoors
Outdoors in Parish
12% of Parish’s land is conserved: 3,094 acres
The biggest trail networks: Happy Valley Wildlife Management Area (5.6 mi). 20% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 9.5 miles of mapped trail cross Parish, 0.2 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 47% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
12%
3,094 acres · of 41.7 sq mi of land
Trails
9.5 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
29 ac
12 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
20%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
659 ft
Dutch Hill
Lakes & rivers
2
What kind of outdoors town is Parish?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Parish have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Parish is ahead of 47% of U.S. towns. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Parish’s overall grade.
Conserved land12% of the land · typical NY town 5% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (10 mi) · NY 0.4 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land12 acres of park per 1,000 residents (29 acres) · NY 31 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to home20% 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 47%
LessMore
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 Happy Valley WMA, with 5.6 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
3,094 conserved acres
12% of Parish’s land. Who manages Parish’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State conservation2,449 ac
County469 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)110 ac
Town or city29 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits26 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government16 ac
State Resource Management Area · 2,449 acLocal Conservation Area · 469 acConservation Easement · 110 acLocal Park · 45 acPrivate Conservation · 26 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 110 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 7 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Happy Valley Wma State Resource Management Area | State conservation | 2,449 | Open |
| Oswego County Lands Local Conservation Area | County | 469 | Restricted |
| Town of Parish Land Local Park | Town or city | 29 | Unknown |
| Robert Wells Bequest Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 26 | Closed |
| Altmar-Parish-Williamstown Central School Lands Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 16 | Open |
| Parish Village Lands Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 1 | Open |
Things to do
2 places to go in Parish
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Parish
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Peaks in Parish
Dutch Hill659 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
2 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
1Soccer
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Pleasant Lawn CemeterySite · listed 2005
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Parish: 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) | 9.3 | 10.4 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.7 | 15.4 | 15.1 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 30 | 32 | 40 | 54 | 67 | 76 | 80 | 79 | 72 | 59 | 47 | 35 |
| Rain (in) | 3.8 | 3.2 | 3.2 | 3.8 | 3.9 | 4.2 | 3.9 | 3.7 | 4.1 | 4.9 | 4.3 | 4.4 |
February is the driest month (3.2 in) and July the warmest (highs of 80 °F). 4.9 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Parish →
Next door
Parish and its neighbors
Parish has the second most mapped trails of the 6 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Parish | 12% | 0.2 | 12 | 20% | B− |
| West Monroe | 14% | under 0.1 | 10 | 9% | C |
| Mexico | 1% | 0.1 | 48 | 32% | C+ |
| Albion | 26% | 0.3 | 535 | 44% | A− |
| Amboy | 11% | 0.1 | 1,647 | 26% | B |
| Hastings | 1% | 0.1 | 20 | 41% | C |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Parish
Where can I hike in Parish?
The longest trail networks: Happy Valley Wildlife Management Area, 5.6 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Parish 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 Parish’s trails?
Happy Valley Wildlife Management Area doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Parish?
29,082 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Parish or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 2,496 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Parish have?
Ahead of 47% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade. 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 Parish 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 →