Ontario County Park
Managed by Ontario County
393 acres18.3 mi of trail
Black TrailBrown TrailPark TrailYellow Loop+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Wilder Cemetery · Photo: DanielPenfield · CC BY-SA 4.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in South Bristol
South Bristol has 409 acres of parks, 252 for every 1,000 residents
48 miles of mapped trail cross South Bristol, 1.2 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Ontario County Park (18.3 mi), Cumming Nature Center (9.6 mi), Wesley Hill Nature Preserve (3.3 mi). 9% of South Bristol’s land is conserved, about 2,269 acres.
Ahead of 77% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
9%
2,269 acres · of 39.1 sq mi of land
Trails
48 mi
1.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
409 ac
252 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
14%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
2,283 ft
Frost Hill
Lakes & rivers
2
1 beach · 2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is South Bristol?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does South Bristol have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, South Bristol 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 South Bristol’s overall grade.
Conserved land9% of the land · typical NY town 5% · U.S. 4%B+Trails1.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (48 mi) · NY 0.4 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land252 acres of park per 1,000 residents (409 acres) · NY 31 · U.S. 13AParks close to home14% 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
Water is 7% of South Bristol’s area (3 of 42 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 8%.
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 Ontario County Park, with 18.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Cumming Nature Center
Managed by Rochester Museum and Science Center
706 acres9.6 mi of trail
PurpleWildernessOrangeGreen+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Wesley Hill Nature Preserve
Managed by Finger Lakes Land Trust
225 acres3.3 mi of trail
Red TrailGreen Trail (Briggs Gully)Orange Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Stid Hill Multiple Use Area
Managed by New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
277 acres1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
All 7 parks & preserves
Ontario County Park393 acres · 18.3 mi of trail · Ontario County
DirectionsCumming Nature Center706 acres · 9.6 mi of trail · Rochester Museum and Science Center
DirectionsWesley Hill Nature Preserve225 acres · 3.3 mi of trail · Finger Lakes Land Trust
DirectionsStid Hill Multiple Use Area277 acres · 1 mi of trail · New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
DirectionsHoneoye Inlet Wildlife Management Area87 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
Great Hill Nature Preserve37 acres · Finger Lakes Land Trust
Carolabarb Park37 acres · Town of South Bristol
DirectionsWho protects it
2,269 conserved acres
9% of South Bristol’s land. Water is left out: South Bristol has 39.1 square miles of land and 3.1 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages South Bristol’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits1,487 ac
State conservation382 ac
County366 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)36 ac
Private Other or Unknown · 976 acState Resource Management Area · 373 acLocal Park · 366 acUnknown Easement · 284 acPrivate Conservation · 226 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 320 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 17 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boy Scouts of America Lands Private Other or Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 975 | Closed |
| Ontario, County of Land Local Park | County | 366 | Unknown |
| Stid Hill Mua State Resource Management Area | State conservation | 284 | Open |
| Wesley Hill Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 225 | Closed |
| Honeoye Inlet Wma State Resource Management Area | State conservation | 89 | Open |
| Woodville Boat Launch State Recreation Area | State conservation | 9 | Open |
| Finger Lakes Trail Conservancy Lands Private Other or Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 2 | Closed |
| Western Finger Lakes Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 1 | Closed |
Things to do
16 places to go in South Bristol
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in South Bristol
Bristol Harbour Beach
DirectionsPlaygrounds in South Bristol
3 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in South Bristol
Kayak launch
DirectionsWoodville Boat Launch
DirectionsFishing spots in South Bristol
Woodville Public Access
DirectionsScenic views in South Bristol
Lake View Point
DirectionsPlus 1 scenic view without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Peaks in South Bristol
Frost Hill2,283 ft elevation
DirectionsGannett Hill2,264 ft elevation
DirectionsCleveland Hill2,201 ft elevation
DirectionsWorden Hill2,185 ft elevation
DirectionsQuail Hill2,146 ft elevation
DirectionsStid Hill2,083 ft elevation
DirectionsPowell Hill2,024 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
21 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 17.5 miUnpaved · 3.6 mi
Bristol Hills Trail4.4 mi
Black Trail3.5 mi
Brown Trail2.8 mi
Purple2.5 mi
Park Trail2.1 mi
Red Trail2.0 mi
Wilderness1.9 mi
Yellow Loop1.9 mi
Green Loop1.2 mi
Orange1.1 mi
11 more trails
Red Loop
1.0 miPurple Loop
1.0 miDay Use Trail
0.8 miGreen
0.8 miBlue
0.7 miYellow
0.7 miGreen Trail (Briggs Gully)
0.6 miOrange Trail
0.6 miRed
0.4 miADA Trail
0.2 miBristol Hills Trail / ADA Trail
0.1 miLakes & 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.
Black TrailBike route
3.5 miBrown TrailBike route
2.8 miPark TrailsBike route
1.9 miYellow LoopBike route
1.9 miGreen LoopBike route
1.2 miPurple LoopBike route
1 miRed LoopBike route
1 miCourts & fields
17Tennis
3Baseball
3Pickleball
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →3 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 1 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The best walking months in South Bristol: May and 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) | 9.4 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.6 | 15.3 | 15.0 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.1 |
| High (°F) | 30 | 33 | 41 | 54 | 67 | 75 | 78 | 77 | 70 | 58 | 46 | 35 |
| Rain (in) | 2.3 | 1.9 | 2.5 | 3.0 | 3.5 | 4.0 | 4.1 | 3.8 | 3.7 | 3.8 | 2.8 | 2.6 |
February is the driest month (1.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 78 °F). 4.1 inches fall in July, the wettest month. The climate in South Bristol →
Next door
South Bristol and its neighbors
South Bristol has the most mapped trails of the 7 towns around it. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Bristol | 9% | 1.2 | 252 | 14% | A− |
| Middlesex | 7% | 0.3 | 256 | 22% | B |
| Naples | 10% | 0.7 | 280 | 56% | A− |
| Canandaigua | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Bristol | 4% | 0.4 | 5 | 4% | C |
| Richmond | 14% | 0.4 | 51 | 47% | B+ |
| Italy | 25% | 0.9 | 1,436 | 10% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in South Bristol
Where can I hike in South Bristol?
The longest trail networks: Ontario County Park, 18.3 miles; Cumming Nature Center, 9.6 miles; Wesley Hill Nature Preserve, 3.3 miles; Stid Hill Multiple Use Area, 1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of South Bristol is conserved land?
9% 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 South Bristol’s trails?
Ontario County Park and Cumming Nature Center don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near South Bristol?
23,768 acres of parks and open public land lie inside South Bristol or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 778 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does South Bristol 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 South Bristol 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 →