Sandy Creek State Forest
Managed by New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
451 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Lacona Railroad Station and Depot · Photo: JaPaGaIII · CC BY-SA 4.0B−Outdoors
Outdoors in Sandy Creek
Sandy Creek has 735 acres of parks, 193 for every 1,000 residents
2.0 miles of mapped trail cross Sandy Creek. 23% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 5% of Sandy Creek’s land is conserved, about 1,229 acres.
Ahead of 46% of U.S. towns · #583 of 758 in New York. What drives it
Conserved land
5%
1,229 acres · of 42.3 sq mi of land
Trails
2.0 mi
0.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
735 ac
193 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
23%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
814 ft
Wheat Hill
Lakes & rivers
2
1 beach · 2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Sandy Creek?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Sandy Creek have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Sandy Creek is ahead of 46% of U.S. towns, #583 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 Sandy Creek’s overall grade.
Conserved land5% of the land · typical NY town 5% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (2 mi) · NY 0.4 · U.S. 0.4C−Park land193 acres of park per 1,000 residents (735 acres) · NY 31 · U.S. 13AParks close to home23% 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 46%
LessMore
New York towns of 2,500+ (758)Ahead of 23%
Water is 9% of Sandy Creek’s area (4 of 46 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 4%.
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.
Sandy Island Beach State Park
Managed by New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation
241 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Who protects it
1,229 conserved acres
5% of Sandy Creek’s land. Water is left out: Sandy Creek has 42.3 square miles of land and 4.2 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Sandy Creek’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits1,054 ac
State conservation468 ac
State parks269 ac
County21 ac
Private Conservation · 1,039 acState Conservation Area · 453 acState Park · 269 acLocal Park · 21 acPrivate Other or Unknown · 16 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 18 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rainbow Shores Preserve Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 1,039 | Restricted |
| Sandy Creek State Forest State Conservation Area | State conservation | 453 | Open |
| Sandy Island Beach State Park State Park | State parks | 253 | Open |
| County Of Oswego Land Local Park | County | 21 | Unknown |
| Sandy Creek Little League Lands Private Other or Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 16 | Closed |
| Sandy Beach State Park State Park | State parks | 16 | Open |
| North Pond Sandy Creek Waterway Access State Recreation Area | State conservation | 6 | Open |
| State Unique Area State Resource Management Area | State conservation | 6 | Open |
| Little Sandy Creek Fishing Access State Recreation Area | State conservation | 2 | Open |
Things to do
6 places to go in Sandy Creek
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Sandy Creek
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Sandy Creek
9 Maple Ave Playground
DirectionsPlus 1 playground without a name on the map.
Boat launches in Sandy Creek
2 boat launches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Peaks in Sandy Creek
Wheat Hill814 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
8Baseball
1Multi-sport
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →14 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
First Baptist ChurchBuilding · listed 1988
About itFirst National Bank of LaconaBuilding · listed 1988
About itFred Smart HouseBuilding · listed 1988
About itLacona Clock TowerStructure · listed 1988
About itCharles Salisbury M. HouseBuilding · listed 1988
About itHolyoke CottageBuilding · listed 1988
About itMatthew Shoecraft HouseBuilding · listed 1988
About itMethodist ChurchBuilding · listed 1988
About itNewman Tuttle HouseBuilding · listed 1988
About itNewton M. Pitt HouseBuilding · listed 1988
About itSamuel Sadler HouseBuilding · listed 1988
About itSandy Creek Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1988
About it2 more on the History page.
When to get out
The best walking months in Sandy Creek: 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 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 8.9 |
| High (°F) | 30 | 32 | 40 | 54 | 67 | 75 | 80 | 79 | 72 | 59 | 47 | 36 |
| Rain (in) | 3.6 | 2.9 | 2.9 | 3.5 | 3.6 | 3.8 | 3.6 | 3.6 | 4.0 | 4.7 | 4.1 | 4.1 |
February is the driest month (2.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 80 °F). 4.7 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Sandy Creek →
Next door
Sandy Creek 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sandy Creek | 5% | under 0.1 | 193 | 23% | B− |
| Richland | 9% | 0.3 | 230 | 58% | A− |
| Boylston | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Ellisburg | 9% | 0.1 | 298 | 34% | B |
| Orwell | 23% | 0.4 | 5,958 | 58% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Sandy Creek
Where can I hike in Sandy Creek?
The longest trail networks: Sandy Island Beach State Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Sandy Creek is conserved land?
5% 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 Sandy Creek’s trails?
Sandy Creek State Forest and Sandy Island Beach State Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Sandy Creek?
44,343 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Sandy Creek or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 741 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Sandy Creek have?
Ahead of 46% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #583 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 Sandy Creek 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 →