Taylor Valley State Forest
Managed by New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
1,402 acres5 mi of trail
Finger Lakes / North Country Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Hatheway Homestead · Photo: Jack Boucher · Public domainA−Outdoors
Outdoors in Solon
Solon has 2,041 acres of parks, 2,270 for every 1,000 residents
15% of Solon’s land is conserved, about 2,883 acres. The biggest trail networks: Taylor Valley State Forest (5 mi), Baker School House State Forest (3.4 mi), Donahue Woods State Forest (1.1 mi). 25% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 77% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
15%
2,883 acres · of 29.7 sq mi of land
Trails
14 mi
0.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
2,041 ac
2,270 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
25%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
1,909 ft
Mount Roderick
What kind of outdoors town is Solon?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Solon have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Solon is ahead of 77% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Solon’s overall grade.
Conserved land15% of the land · typical NY town 5% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (14 mi) · NY 0.4 · U.S. 0.4BPark land2,270 acres of park per 1,000 residents (2,041 acres) · NY 31 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home25% 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 77%
LessMore
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A. 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 Taylor Valley State Forest, with 5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Baker School House State Forest
Managed by New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
840 acres3.4 mi of trail
Finger Lakes / North Country Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Donahue Woods State Forest
Managed by New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
598 acres1.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Who protects it
2,883 conserved acres
15% of Solon’s land. Who manages Solon’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State conservation2,870 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)13 ac
State Conservation Area · 2,870 acConservation Easement · 13 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 13 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Taylor Valley State Forest State Conservation Area | State conservation | 1,428 | Open |
| Baker School House State Forest State Conservation Area | State conservation | 841 | Open |
| Donahue Woods State Forest State Conservation Area | State conservation | 601 | Open |
Things to do
3 places to go in Solon
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Peaks in Solon
Mount Roderick1,909 ft elevation · In Taylor Valley State Forest
DirectionsUnderwood Hill1,860 ft elevation
DirectionsCase Hill1,841 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
1 named trail
Named trails
Unpaved · 5.9 mi
Finger Lakes / North Country Trail5.9 mi
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Hatheway HomesteadBuilding · listed 1978
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Solon: 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 | 9.1 |
| High (°F) | 29 | 32 | 40 | 53 | 66 | 74 | 78 | 76 | 69 | 57 | 45 | 34 |
| Rain (in) | 3.1 | 2.7 | 3.3 | 3.6 | 3.8 | 4.7 | 4.2 | 4.2 | 4.3 | 4.3 | 3.4 | 3.6 |
February is the driest month (2.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 78 °F). 4.7 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Solon →
Next door
Solon 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Solon | 15% | 0.5 | 2,270 | 25% | A− |
| Freetown | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Cortlandville | 2% | 0.3 | 49 | 55% | B |
| Taylor | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Truxton | — 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 Solon
Where can I hike in Solon?
The longest trail networks: Taylor Valley State Forest, 5 miles; Baker School House State Forest, 3.4 miles; Donahue Woods State Forest, 1.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Solon is conserved land?
15% 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 Solon’s trails?
Taylor Valley State Forest and Baker School House State Forest don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Solon?
46,266 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Solon or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 2,041 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Solon have?
Ahead of 77% 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 Solon 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 →