Roscoe Conkling Park
Park
371 acres4.8 mi of trail
South Woods trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Utica
13% of Utica’s land is conserved, and 96% of residents live within a half mile of a park
13% of Utica’s land is conserved, about 1,350 acres. 14 miles of mapped trail cross Utica, 0.8 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Roscoe Conkling Park (4.8 mi), T R Proctor Park (0.5 mi).
Ahead of 88% of U.S. towns · #145 of 758 in New York. What drives it
Conserved land
13%
1,350 acres · of 16.7 sq mi of land
Trails
14 mi
0.8 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,150 ac
18 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
96%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
9.2 mi
1.6 mi lanes · 7.6 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
2
What kind of outdoors town is Utica?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Utica have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Utica is ahead of 88% of U.S. towns, #145 of 758 in New York. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of residents near a park ranks highest, park acres per resident lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Utica’s overall grade.
Conserved land13% of the land · typical NY town 5% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.8 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (14 mi) · NY 0.4 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land18 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,150 acres) · NY 31 · U.S. 13BParks close to home96% of residents within a half mile of a park · NY 70% · U.S. 72%A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 88%
LessMore
New York towns of 2,500+ (758)Ahead of 81%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from A− 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 Roscoe Conkling Park, with 4.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Utica Marsh Wildlife Management Area
Nature preserve
105 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
All 21 parks & preserves
Roscoe Conkling Park371 acres · 4.8 mi of trail
DirectionsT R Proctor Park55 acres · 0.5 mi of trail
DirectionsWatson Williams Park4 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsRetirees' Grove7 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsJohnson Park1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsSunset Park1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsUtica Marsh Wildlife Management Area105 acres
F T Proctor Park59 acres
DirectionsDix Mix Memorial Field17 acres
DirectionsSeymour Park13 acres
DirectionsHoratio Seymour Park12 acres
DirectionsAddison Miller Park12 acres
North Utica Park11 acres
Richard P Conner Park7 acres
Pixley Park5 acres
Harry V Quinn Playground3 acres
DirectionsLincoln Playground3 acres
Kemble Park2 acres · City of Utica
DirectionsSteuben Park1 acres
DirectionsKernan Park1 acres
DirectionsHanna Park1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
1,350 conserved acres
13% of Utica’s land. Who manages Utica’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city974 ac
Other state land435 ac
State conservation107 ac
County25 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits6 ac
Regional agency2 ac
Local Park · 982 acState Recreation Area · 315 acState Resource Management Area · 226 acLocal Recreation Area · 17 acPrivate Other or Unknown · 6 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 4 of 32 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Roscoe Conkling Park Local Park | Town or city | 404 | Open |
| City Of Utica Land Local Park | Town or city | 351 | Unknown |
| Erie Canal State Recreation Area | Other state land | 315 | Open |
| Mohawk Valley State Psychiatric Center State Resource Management Area | Other state land | 119 | Open |
| Utica Marsh Wma State Resource Management Area | State conservation | 107 | Open |
| Proctor Park Local Park | Town or city | 78 | Open |
| Parkway East Local Park | Town or city | 43 | Open |
| Seymour Park Local Park | County | 23 | Open |
| Dix Mix Memorial Field Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 17 | Open |
| Memorial Parkway Local Park | Town or city | 14 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
16 places to go in Utica
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in Utica
1 public pool without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Utica
15 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
1 named trail and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
South Woods trail1.7 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
9.2 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.6 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
7.6 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
39Baseball
32Tennis
8Basketball
5Soccer
3Football
1Multi-sport
1Volleyball
1Skate park
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →37 places on the National Register, 2 of them National Historic Landmarks
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 18 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Fountain ElmsBuilding · listed 1972
About itUnion StationBuilding · listed 1975
About itStanley TheaterBuilding · listed 1976
About itSt. Joseph's ChurchBuilding · listed 1977
About itLower Genesee Street Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1982
About itUtica Public LibraryBuilding · listed 1982
About itFirst Baptist Church of DeerfieldBuilding · listed 1985
About itNew Century ClubBuilding · listed 1985
About itFirst Presbyterian ChurchBuilding · listed 1988
About itGen. John G. Weaver HouseBuilding · listed 1989
About it25 more on the History page.
When to get out
The best walking months in Utica: May, August 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) | 9.3 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.6 | 15.4 | 15.1 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 31 | 33 | 42 | 56 | 70 | 78 | 82 | 81 | 73 | 60 | 47 | 36 |
| Rain (in) | 2.7 | 2.3 | 3.0 | 3.6 | 3.9 | 4.4 | 4.3 | 4.0 | 3.8 | 4.2 | 3.4 | 3.2 |
February is the driest month (2.3 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 4.4 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Utica →
Next door
Utica and its neighbors
Utica 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Utica | 13% | 0.8 | 18 | 96% | A |
| New Hartford | 3% | 0.3 | 20 | 62% | B− |
| Marcy | 9% | 0.1 | 115 | 48% | B |
| Frankfort | 1% | under 0.1 | 37 | 55% | C |
| Deerfield | 1% | under 0.1 | 60 | 66% | C+ |
| Whitestown | 4% | 0.1 | 16 | 86% | B− |
| Schuyler | 6% | under 0.1 | 440 | 60% | B |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Utica
Where can I hike in Utica?
The longest trail networks: Roscoe Conkling Park, 4.8 miles; T R Proctor Park, 0.5 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Utica is conserved land?
13% 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 Utica’s trails?
Roscoe Conkling Park and T R Proctor Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Utica?
9.2 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.6 of painted or protected lanes and 7.6 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Utica?
9,825 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Utica or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,377 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Utica have?
Ahead of 88% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #145 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 Utica 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 →