W A Wettel Park
Park
10 acres0.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Vernon Methodist Church · Photo: Agreen54 · CC BY-SA 4.0C+Outdoors
Outdoors in Vernon
Vernon has 12 miles of mapped trails, 0.3 for every square mile of land
The biggest trail networks: W A Wettel Park (0.5 mi). 65% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 96 acres are parks and preserves, 12 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 37% of U.S. towns · #659 of 758 in New York. What drives it
Conserved land
under 1%
79 acres · of 40.1 sq mi of land
Trails
12 mi
0.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
96 ac
12 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
65%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.6 mi
Highest peak
1,342 ft
Eaton Hill
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Vernon have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Vernon is ahead of 37% of U.S. towns, #659 of 758 in New York. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
C+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Vernon’s overall grade.
Conserved landunder 1% of the land · typical NY town 5% · U.S. 4%C−Trails0.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (12 mi) · NY 0.4 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land12 acres of park per 1,000 residents (96 acres) · NY 31 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to home65% 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 37%
LessMore
New York towns of 2,500+ (758)Ahead of 13%
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 W A Wettel Park, with 0.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Oneida Castle Village Park
Park
7 acres
Dogs on leash
No trailhead mapped yet
Maple Park
Park
4 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
79 conserved acres
under 1% of Vernon’s land. Who manages Vernon’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city103 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government7 ac
Regional Water Districts5 ac
Local Park · 107 acLocal Resource Management Area · 5 acLocal Recreation Area · 4 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 2 of 14 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| City Of Sherrill Land Local Park | Town or city | 49 | Open |
| Robertson Park Local Park | Town or city | 14 | Open |
| Village of Vernon Land Local Park | Town or city | 10 | Open |
| Oneida Castle Village Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 7 | Open |
| Reilly Mumford Park Local Park | Town or city | 7 | Open |
| Thurber Park Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| Noyes Park Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Open |
| Sherrill Kenwood Water District Lands Local Resource Management Area | Regional Water Districts | 5 | Open |
| Betsinger Road Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Village Park Land Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Unknown |
3 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
2 places to go in Vernon
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Peaks in Vernon
Eaton Hill1,342 ft elevation
DirectionsGibson Hill1,040 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
1 named trail
Named trails
West Shore Railroad1.2 mi
Biking & sports
0.6 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.5 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
9Baseball
3Tennis
3Basketball
1Soccer
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →2 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
When to get out
The best walking months in Vernon: 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) | 30 | 33 | 41 | 55 | 69 | 77 | 81 | 79 | 72 | 60 | 47 | 35 |
| Rain (in) | 2.8 | 2.4 | 2.9 | 3.5 | 3.9 | 4.3 | 4.1 | 3.9 | 3.6 | 4.3 | 3.3 | 3.3 |
February is the driest month (2.4 in) and July the warmest (highs of 81 °F). 4.3 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Vernon →
Next door
Vernon and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Verona41 miOneida16 miKirkland15 miVernon12 miWestmoreland6.2 miStockbridge2.9 miAugusta1.5 miOneida Castle0.0 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vernon | under 1% | 0.3 | 12 | 65% | C+ |
| Oneida | 2% | 0.7 | 35 | 87% | B+ |
| Oneida Castle | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Verona | 7% | 0.6 | 500 | 44% | A− |
| Westmoreland | 1% | 0.1 | 3 | 14% | C− |
| Stockbridge | under 1% | 0.1 | under 1 | under 1% | D− |
| Augusta | under 1% | 0.1 | 2 | 33% | D |
| Kirkland | 1% | 0.4 | 14 | 41% | C+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Vernon
Where can I hike in Vernon?
The longest trail networks: W A Wettel Park, 0.5 miles; Vernon Park, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Vernon is conserved land?
under 1% 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 Vernon’s trails?
OpenStreetMap records dogs as welcome at Oneida Castle Village Park (on leash). For the rest, check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Vernon?
0.6 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.5 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Vernon?
12,873 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Vernon or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 96 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Vernon have?
Ahead of 37% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #659 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 Vernon 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 →