Baldwinsville Community Park
Park
41 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
New York State Barge Canal · Photo: Bill Blevins · CC BY 2.0C+Outdoors
Outdoors in Van Buren
Van Buren has 373 acres of parks, 26 for every 1,000 residents
2.0 miles of mapped trail cross Van Buren, 0.1 per square mile of land. 2% of Van Buren’s land is conserved, about 408 acres. 70% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 44% of U.S. towns · #596 of 758 in New York. What drives it
Conserved land
2%
408 acres · of 35.5 sq mi of land
Trails
2.0 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
373 ac
26 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
70%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
5.5 mi
2.0 mi paths
Highest peak
650 ft
The Kingdom
Lakes & rivers
1
1 boat launch
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Van Buren have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Van Buren is ahead of 44% of U.S. towns, #596 of 758 in New York. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
C+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Van Buren’s overall grade.
Conserved land2% of the land · typical NY town 5% · U.S. 4%C+Trails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (2 mi) · NY 0.4 · U.S. 0.4C−Park land26 acres of park per 1,000 residents (373 acres) · NY 31 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home70% 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 44%
LessMore
New York towns of 2,500+ (758)Ahead of 21%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B. 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 Baldwinsville Community Park, with 0.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
408 conserved acres
2% of Van Buren’s land. Who manages Van Buren’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city196 ac
Other state land111 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits44 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)41 ac
County17 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government1 ac
Local Park · 213 acState Recreation Area · 111 acPrivate Conservation · 44 acConservation Easement · 41 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 41 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 4 of 9 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Town Of Van Buren Land Local Park | Town or city | 155 | Unknown |
| Erie Canal State Recreation Area | Other state land | 111 | Open |
| Whiskey Hollow Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 44 | Closed |
| Village Of Baldwinsville Land Local Park | Town or city | 41 | Unknown |
| County Of Cayuga Land Local Park | County | 17 | Unknown |
| Mcharrie Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 1 | Open |
Things to do
9 places to go in Van Buren
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Van Buren
5 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Van Buren
1 dog park without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in Van Buren
Baldwinsville Community Park Boat LaunchIn Baldwinsville Community Park
DirectionsPeaks in Van Buren
The Kingdom650 ft elevation
DirectionsSorrel Hill643 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
1 named trail and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 0.5 mi
Southwest Trail0.2 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
5.5 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
2.0 mi
off-road bike paths
3.5 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
16Baseball
6Tennis
6Soccer
3Basketball
2Pickleball
2Lacrosse
1Field hockey
1Softball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →2 places on the National Register, one a National Historic Landmark
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
When to get out
The best walking months in Van Buren: 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 | 10.5 | 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 | 55 | 68 | 77 | 81 | 80 | 73 | 60 | 48 | 37 |
| Rain (in) | 3.0 | 2.6 | 3.0 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.9 | 4.0 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 4.3 | 3.6 | 3.5 |
February is the driest month (2.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 81 °F). 4.3 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Van Buren →
Next door
Van Buren and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Questions about parks and trails in Van Buren
Where can I hike in Van Buren?
The longest trail networks: Baldwinsville Community Park, 0.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Van Buren is conserved land?
2% 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 Van Buren’s trails?
Baldwinsville Community Park and Van Buren Central Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Van Buren?
5.5 miles of bike routes are on the map: 2.0 of off-road paths and 3.5 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Van Buren?
14,328 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Van Buren or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 373 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Van Buren have?
Ahead of 44% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #596 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 Van Buren 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 →