Sterling Nature Reserve
Nature preserve
711 acres7.9 mi of trail
Meadow LoopButtonbush TrailVernal Pool TrailHeron Trail+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Andre Carrotflower · CC BY-SA 4.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Sterling
Sterling has 2,802 acres of parks, 878 for every 1,000 residents
9% of Sterling’s land is conserved, about 2,719 acres. The biggest trail networks: Sterling Nature Reserve (7.9 mi), West Barrier Bar County Park (0.5 mi). 25 miles of mapped trail cross Sterling, 0.6 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 83% of U.S. towns · #194 of 758 in New York. What drives it
Conserved land
9%
2,719 acres · of 45.4 sq mi of land
Trails
25 mi
0.6 per sq mi of land
Park land
2,802 ac
878 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
59%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
423 ft
Gulf Hill
Lakes & rivers
5
2 beaches · 2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Sterling?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Sterling have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Sterling is ahead of 83% of U.S. towns, #194 of 758 in New York. 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 Sterling’s overall grade.
Conserved land9% of the land · typical NY town 5% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.6 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (25 mi) · NY 0.4 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land878 acres of park per 1,000 residents (2,802 acres) · NY 31 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home59% of residents within a half mile of a park · NY 70% · U.S. 72%B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 83%
LessMore
New York towns of 2,500+ (758)Ahead of 75%
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 Sterling Nature Reserve, with 7.9 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
West Barrier Bar County Park
Park
13 acres0.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Fair Haven Beach State Park
Managed by New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation
1,012 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Who protects it
2,719 conserved acres
9% of Sterling’s land. Who manages Sterling’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County1,538 ac
State parks1,118 ac
Town or city63 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits14 ac
Local Park · 1,601 acState Park · 1,132 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 4 of 6 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cayuga County Real Property R Land Local Park | County | 1,537 | Unknown |
| Fair Haven Beach State Park State Park | State parks | 1,118 | Open |
| Fair Haven Village Of Land Local Park | Town or city | 51 | Unknown |
| James Property State Park | Land trusts & nonprofits | 14 | Open |
| Village of Fair Haven Land Local Park | Town or city | 11 | Unknown |
| Cayuga County Real Property D Land Local Park | County | 1 | Unknown |
Things to do
10 places to go in Sterling
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Sterling
2 beaches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Sterling
Fair Haven Beach State Park Boat Launch
DirectionsPlus 1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Peaks in Sterling
Gulf Hill423 ft elevation
DirectionsKevilles Hill413 ft elevation
DirectionsJuniper Hill410 ft elevation
DirectionsSidmans Hill410 ft elevation
DirectionsWilde Hill410 ft elevation
DirectionsThe Ridge394 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
14 named trails and 5 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 12.9 mi
Ontario Branch7.7 mi
Cato-Fairhaven Trail5.1 mi
Dogwood Extension1.0 mi
Meadow Loop1.0 mi
Buttonbush Trail0.8 mi
Vernal Pool Trail0.8 mi
Heron Trail0.7 mi
Lake Trail0.6 mi
Upland Path0.5 mi
Eagle's View Trail0.5 mi
4 more trails
Two-Tail Trail
0.5 miBluff Trail
0.5 miForest Ecology Trail
0.4 miLakeview 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.
Courts & fields
1Tennis
1Baseball
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 Sterling: 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 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 31 | 33 | 41 | 54 | 66 | 76 | 80 | 79 | 72 | 59 | 47 | 37 |
| Rain (in) | 3.3 | 2.5 | 2.8 | 3.4 | 3.3 | 3.7 | 3.6 | 3.5 | 3.6 | 4.3 | 3.7 | 3.5 |
February is the driest month (2.5 in) and July the warmest (highs of 80 °F). 4.3 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Sterling →
Next door
Sterling and its neighbors
Sterling has the most mapped trails of the 6 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sterling | 9% | 0.6 | 878 | 59% | A− |
| Fair Haven | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Hannibal | under 1% | under 0.1 | 16 | 24% | C− |
| Wolcott | 10% | under 0.1 | 10 | 43% | C+ |
| Oswego | 3% | 0.1 | 7 | 60% | C |
| Victory | under 1% | 0.1 | 16 | 15% | C− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Sterling
Where can I hike in Sterling?
The longest trail networks: Sterling Nature Reserve, 7.9 miles; West Barrier Bar County Park, 0.5 miles; Fair Haven Beach State Park, 0.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Sterling 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 Sterling’s trails?
Sterling Nature Reserve and West Barrier Bar County Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Sterling?
10,180 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Sterling or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 2,802 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Sterling have?
Ahead of 83% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #194 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 Sterling 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 →