College Lodge Forest
Managed by Western New York Land Conservancy
118 acres3.4 mi of trail
Leopold and Muir to OG
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Brocton Arch · Photo: Doug Kerr from Upstate New York · CC BY-SA 2.0BOutdoors
Outdoors in Portland
Portland has 566 acres of parks, 144 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: College Lodge Forest (3.4 mi). 44% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 12 miles of mapped trail cross Portland, 0.4 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 62% of U.S. towns · #425 of 758 in New York. What drives it
Conserved land
3%
682 acres · of 34.0 sq mi of land
Trails
12 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
566 ac
144 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
44%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
2
What kind of outdoors town is Portland?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Portland have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Portland is ahead of 62% of U.S. towns, #425 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 Portland’s overall grade.
Conserved land3% of the land · typical NY town 5% · U.S. 4%B−Trails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (12 mi) · NY 0.4 · U.S. 0.4BPark land144 acres of park per 1,000 residents (566 acres) · NY 31 · U.S. 13AParks close to home44% 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 62%
LessMore
New York towns of 2,500+ (758)Ahead of 44%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B− 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 College Lodge Forest, with 3.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Lake Erie State Park
Managed by New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation
219 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trail signWebsite ↗
Who protects it
682 conserved acres
3% of Portland’s land. Who manages Portland’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city332 ac
State parks225 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits118 ac
Private owners5 ac
Local Park · 332 acState Park · 225 acAgricultural Easement · 64 acPrivate Conservation · 45 acPrivate Other or Unknown · 9 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 64 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 5 of 12 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Village of Brocton , Trustees Land Local Park | Town or city | 315 | Unknown |
| Lake Erie State Park State Park | State parks | 225 | Open |
| Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy Land Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 45 | Closed |
| Village of Brocton, Trustees Land Local Park | Town or city | 12 | Unknown |
| Chautauqua Rails To Trails Lands Private Other or Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 9 | Closed |
| Private Lands Private Recreation or Education | Private owners | 5 | Closed |
| Village Of Brocton, Athletic Land Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Unknown |
| Town Of Portland, Beach Land Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Unknown |
| Village Of Brocton Land Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Unknown |
Things to do
3 places to go in Portland
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Portland
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Campgrounds in Portland
Lake Erie State ParkIn Lake Erie State Park
DirectionsDisc golf in Portland
1 disc golf course without a name on the map.
Trails & water
4 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 7.3 miUnpaved · 3.7 mi
Chautauqua Alison Wells Ney Trail4.0 mi
Chautauqua Laurie A. Baer Trail1.9 mi
Chautauqua Brockton Area Recreational Trail1.3 mi
Leopold and Muir to OG0.3 mi
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.
Erie To Pittsburgh TrailBike route
7.3 miChautauqua Rails to TrailsBike route
7.3 miCourts & fields
6Baseball
4Tennis
2Basketball
1Volleyball
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).
Brocton ArchStructure · listed 1996
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Portland: May, June and August
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) | 33 | 35 | 43 | 56 | 68 | 76 | 80 | 79 | 72 | 61 | 49 | 38 |
| Rain (in) | 2.9 | 2.3 | 2.6 | 3.2 | 3.5 | 3.7 | 4.1 | 3.7 | 4.2 | 4.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 |
February is the driest month (2.3 in) and July the warmest (highs of 80 °F). 4.5 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Portland →
Next door
Portland and its neighbors
Portland has the most mapped trails of the 3 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Questions about parks and trails in Portland
Where can I hike in Portland?
The longest trail networks: College Lodge Forest, 3.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Portland is conserved land?
3% 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 Portland’s trails?
College Lodge Forest and Lake Erie State Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Portland?
6,737 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Portland or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 566 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Portland have?
Ahead of 62% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #425 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 Portland 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 →