Tracy Creek State Forest
Nature preserve
563 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Photo: J. Passepartout · CC BY-SA 4.0C+Outdoors
Outdoors in Rathbone
Rathbone has 568 acres of parks, 494 for every 1,000 residents
4% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 1.5 miles of mapped trail cross Rathbone. 3% of Rathbone’s land is conserved, about 692 acres.
Ahead of 39% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
3%
692 acres · of 36.0 sq mi of land
Trails
1.5 mi
0.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
568 ac
494 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
4%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
1,749 ft
Derby Hill
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Rathbone?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Rathbone have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Rathbone is ahead of 39% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
C+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Rathbone’s overall grade.
Conserved land3% of the land · typical NY town 5% · U.S. 4%B−Trails0.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (2 mi) · NY 0.4 · U.S. 0.4C−Park land494 acres of park per 1,000 residents (568 acres) · NY 31 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home4% of residents within a half mile of a park · NY 70% · U.S. 72%D
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 39%
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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Helmer Creek Wildlife Management Area
Nature preserve
124 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Who protects it
692 conserved acres
3% of Rathbone’s land. Who manages Rathbone’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State conservation692 ac
State Conservation Area · 566 acState Resource Management Area · 125 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tracy Creek State Forest State Conservation Area | State conservation | 566 | Open |
| Helmer Creek Wma State Resource Management Area | State conservation | 125 | Open |
Things to do
2 places to go in Rathbone
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Peaks in Rathbone
Derby Hill1,749 ft elevation
DirectionsHardscrabble Hill1,709 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
1 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
History along the way
History →2 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 Rathbone: May, July 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 | 15.2 | 15.0 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.1 |
| High (°F) | 32 | 35 | 44 | 57 | 69 | 77 | 81 | 79 | 72 | 60 | 47 | 37 |
| Rain (in) | 2.1 | 1.9 | 2.5 | 3.1 | 3.2 | 3.9 | 3.6 | 3.6 | 3.9 | 3.4 | 2.6 | 2.5 |
February is the driest month (1.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 81 °F). 3.9 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Rathbone →
Next door
Rathbone 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rathbone | 3% | under 0.1 | 494 | 4% | C+ |
| Addison | 5% | 0.5 | 306 | 68% | A− |
| Cameron | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Woodhull | under 1% | 0.1 | under 1 | under 1% | D− |
| Tuscarora | under 1% | 0.1 | 84 | 3% | C |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Rathbone
How much of Rathbone 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 Rathbone’s trails?
Tracy Creek State Forest and Helmer Creek Wildlife Management Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Rathbone?
10,643 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Rathbone or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 695 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Rathbone have?
Ahead of 39% 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 Rathbone 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 →