Mark Twain State Park
Managed by New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation
470 acres0.8 mi of trail
Ek Birding Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto Catharine ValleyWebsite ↗
B−Outdoors
Outdoors in Veteran
Veteran has 582 acres of parks, 178 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Mark Twain State Park (0.8 mi). 46% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 7.0 miles of mapped trail cross Veteran, 0.2 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 54% of U.S. towns · #523 of 758 in New York. What drives it
Conserved land
2%
569 acres · of 38.3 sq mi of land
Trails
7.0 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
582 ac
178 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
46%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
3.3 mi
3.3 mi paths
Highest peak
1,827 ft
Terry Hill
What kind of outdoors town is Veteran?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Veteran have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Veteran is ahead of 54% of U.S. towns, #523 of 758 in New York. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Veteran’s overall grade.
Conserved land2% of the land · typical NY town 5% · U.S. 4%C+Trails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (7 mi) · NY 0.4 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land178 acres of park per 1,000 residents (582 acres) · NY 31 · U.S. 13AParks close to home46% of residents within a half mile of a park · NY 70% · U.S. 72%C+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 54%
LessMore
New York towns of 2,500+ (758)Ahead of 31%
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 Mark Twain State Park, with 0.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
569 conserved acres
2% of Veteran’s land. Who manages Veteran’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State parks546 ac
Town or city17 ac
State conservation3 ac
County3 ac
State Park · 462 acState Recreation Area · 87 acLocal Park · 20 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 2 of 5 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mark Twain State Park State Park | State parks | 462 | Open |
| Catharine Valley Trail State Recreation Area | State parks | 84 | Open |
| Village Of Millport Land Local Park | Town or city | 17 | Unknown |
| Catharine Creek Fishing Access State Recreation Area | State conservation | 3 | Open |
| County of Chemung Land Local Park | County | 3 | Unknown |
Things to do
3 places to go in Veteran
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Fishing spots in Veteran
Catharine Creek Fishing Access
DirectionsPeaks in Veteran
Terry Hill1,827 ft elevation
DirectionsMallory Hill1,453 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
2 named trails
Named trails
Open to bikes · 1.8 miUnpaved · 1.8 mi
Catharine Valley Trail1.8 mi
Ek Birding Trail0.8 mi
Biking & sports
3.3 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
3.3 mi
off-road bike paths
Catharine Valley TrailBike route
1.8 miCourts & fields
2Soccer
1Field hockey
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Veteran: May and July
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) | 9.4 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.6 | 15.2 | 15.0 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.1 |
| High (°F) | 33 | 35 | 44 | 57 | 70 | 78 | 82 | 80 | 73 | 60 | 48 | 37 |
| Rain (in) | 2.0 | 1.7 | 2.5 | 3.2 | 3.1 | 3.7 | 3.5 | 3.7 | 3.9 | 3.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 |
February is the driest month (1.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 3.9 inches fall in September, the wettest month. The climate in Veteran →
Next door
Veteran and its neighbors
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Veteran | 2% | 0.2 | 178 | 46% | B− |
| Horseheads | 3% | 0.4 | 28 | 85% | B+ |
| Catlin | 2% | under 0.1 | 252 | 39% | C+ |
| Catharine | 25% | 0.7 | 198 | 36% | A− |
| Montour | 4% | 0.4 | 68 | 74% | B+ |
| Pine Valley | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Cayuta | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Veteran
Where can I hike in Veteran?
The longest trail networks: Mark Twain State Park, 0.8 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Veteran 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 Veteran’s trails?
Mark Twain State Park doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Veteran?
3.3 miles of bike routes are on the map: 3.3 of off-road paths. Named routes: Catharine Valley Trail.
Is there public land near Veteran?
31,127 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Veteran or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 582 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Veteran have?
Ahead of 54% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #523 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 Veteran 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 →