Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.07% of Syracuse’s land is conserved, and 98% of residents live within a half mile of a park
25 miles of mapped trail cross Syracuse, 1.0 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Elmwood Park (1.8 mi), Thornden Park (1.6 mi), Upper Onondaga Park (1.6 mi). 7% of Syracuse’s land is conserved, about 1,108 acres.
Ahead of 79% of U.S. towns · #242 of 758 in New York. What drives it
What kind of outdoors town is Syracuse?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
How much outdoors does Syracuse have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Syracuse is ahead of 79% of U.S. towns, #242 of 758 in New York. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
Among the 400 U.S. cities of 100,000 or more, Syracuse ranks #207 on Outdoors.
Park acres per resident are where Syracuse trails most U.S. towns: 7.7 per 1,000 against 12.6 typical, since 144,896 people share 1,132 acres.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Pick a walk
The longest trail network is Elmwood Park, with 1.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Thornden Park
Upper Onondaga Park
Sunnycrest Park
Schiller Park
Lower Onondaga Park
All 54 parks & preserves
1,108 conserved acres
7% of Syracuse’s land. Who manages Syracuse’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 20 of 51 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| City Of Syracuse Land Local Park | Town or city | 248 | Open |
| Erie Canal State Recreation Area | Other state land | 97 | Open |
| City Of Syr Parks-Webster Pond Land Local Park | Town or city | 92 | Unknown |
| City Of Syr Parks-Burnet Land Local Park | Town or city | 87 | Unknown |
| City Of Syr Parks-Onondaga Land Local Park | Town or city | 79 | Unknown |
| City Of Syr Parks-Thorden Land Local Park | Town or city | 75 | Unknown |
| City Of Syr Parks-Meachem Fld Land Local Park | Town or city | 54 | Open |
| Suny Esf Exp Station State Resource Management Area | Other state land | 42 | Open |
| City Of Syr Parks-Sunnycrest Land Local Park | Town or city | 40 | Unknown |
| City Of Syr Parks-Schiller Land Local Park | Town or city | 38 | Unknown |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
90 places to go in Syracuse
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
77 playgrounds are on OpenStreetMap in all; the list shows named ones from the first 30.
4 scenic views without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
1 picnic area without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
8 lakes & rivers
45 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
124 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 14 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
112 more on the History page.
The best walking months in Syracuse: May and July 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 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.6 | 15.3 | 15.1 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 31 | 34 | 42 | 56 | 69 | 77 | 82 | 80 | 73 | 60 | 48 | 37 |
| Rain (in) | 2.7 | 2.4 | 2.9 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 4.0 | 3.9 | 3.7 | 3.6 | 4.1 | 3.2 | 3.2 |
February is the driest month (2.4 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 4.1 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Syracuse →
Syracuse and its neighbors
Syracuse has the second most mapped trails of the 8 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Syracuse | 7% | 1.0 | 8 | 98% | A− |
| Onondaga | 2% | 0.3 | 10 | 43% | C+ |
| Geddes | 12% | 0.6 | 22 | 99% | A |
| DeWitt | 4% | 0.8 | 33 | 72% | B+ |
| Salina | 8% | 0.1 | 24 | 92% | B+ |
| Solvay | 4% | 0.6 | 7 | 99%+ | B+ |
| Lyncourt | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| East Syracuse | 2% | 0.3 | 6 | 98% | B− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Syracuse
Where can I hike in Syracuse?
The longest trail networks: Elmwood Park, 1.8 miles; Thornden Park, 1.6 miles; Upper Onondaga Park, 1.6 miles; Rand Tract Park, 1.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Syracuse is conserved land?
7% 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 Syracuse’s trails?
Elmwood Park and Thornden Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Syracuse?
45 miles of bike routes are on the map: 26 of painted or protected lanes, 9.9 of off-road paths and 9.4 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Syracuse?
17,452 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Syracuse or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,192 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Syracuse have?
Ahead of 79% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #242 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 Syracuse neighbors.
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 →