High Vista Nature Preserve
Nature preserve
152 acres1.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: Phmalo · CC BY-SA 2.5BOutdoors
Outdoors in Scott
Scott has 993 acres of parks, 917 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: High Vista Nature Preserve (1.2 mi). 8% of Scott’s land is conserved, about 1,126 acres. 1.6 miles of mapped trail cross Scott, 0.1 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 57% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
8%
1,126 acres · of 22.2 sq mi of land
Trails
1.6 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
993 ac
917 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
29%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
1,903 ft
Preble Hill
What kind of outdoors town is Scott?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Scott have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Scott is ahead of 57% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Scott’s overall grade.
Conserved land8% of the land · typical NY town 5% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (2 mi) · NY 0.4 · U.S. 0.4CPark land917 acres of park per 1,000 residents (993 acres) · NY 31 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home29% 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 57%
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 High Vista Nature Preserve, with 1.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Hewitt State Forest
Managed by New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
929 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Bear Swamp State Forest
Managed by New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
6 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Grout Brook Fishing Access
Managed by New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
1 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Who protects it
1,126 conserved acres
8% of Scott’s land. Who manages Scott’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State conservation956 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits142 ac
Town or city28 ac
State Conservation Area · 937 acPrivate Conservation · 142 acLocal Park · 22 acState Recreation Area · 19 acLocal Resource Management Area · 6 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 6 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hewitt State Forest State Conservation Area | State conservation | 931 | Open |
| High Vista Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 142 | Closed |
| Scott Town of Land Local Park | Town or city | 22 | Unknown |
| Grout Brook Fishing Access State Recreation Area | State conservation | 19 | Open |
| Syracuse City Lands Local Resource Management Area | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| Bear Swamp State Forest State Conservation Area | State conservation | 5 | Open |
Things to do
4 places to go in Scott
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Boat launches in Scott
Fuller Park Boat Launch
DirectionsFishing spots in Scott
Grout Brook Fishing Access
DirectionsScenic views in Scott
1 scenic view without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Peaks in Scott
Preble Hill1,903 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
1 named trail
Named trails
Unpaved · 1.6 mi
Old State Road East0.4 mi
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
1Basketball
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).
Glen Haven District No. 4 School and Public LibraryBuilding · listed 1997
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Scott: 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 | 15.3 | 15.0 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 29 | 31 | 39 | 53 | 65 | 74 | 78 | 76 | 69 | 57 | 45 | 34 |
| Rain (in) | 3.0 | 2.6 | 3.2 | 3.6 | 3.8 | 4.6 | 4.3 | 4.1 | 4.3 | 4.3 | 3.5 | 3.6 |
February is the driest month (2.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 78 °F). 4.6 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Scott →
Next door
Scott 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scott | 8% | 0.1 | 917 | 29% | B |
| Homer | 1% | under 0.1 | 10 | 55% | C |
| Preble | 16% | 0.7 | 68 | 32% | A− |
| Spafford | 9% | 0.3 | 480 | 16% | B |
| Sempronius | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Scott
Where can I hike in Scott?
The longest trail networks: High Vista Nature Preserve, 1.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Scott is conserved land?
8% 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 Scott’s trails?
High Vista Nature Preserve and Hewitt State Forest don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Scott?
21,821 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Scott or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 993 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Scott have?
Ahead of 57% 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 Scott 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 →