James W. Olley Park
Managed by Village of Walden
87 acres1.3 mi of trail
Long TrailShort TrailNature Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Daniel Case · CC BY-SA 3.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Walden
12% of Walden’s land is conserved, and virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park. 2.1 miles of mapped trail cross Walden, 1.0 per square mile of land. 12% of Walden’s land is conserved, about 149 acres.
Ahead of 94% of U.S. towns · #86 of 758 in New York. What drives it
Conserved land
12%
149 acres · of 2.0 sq mi of land
Trails
2.1 mi
1.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
154 ac
22 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.5 mi
0.5 mi paths
What kind of outdoors town is Walden?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Land that stays wild12% of the land is conserved; a typical New York town, 5%.Parks close to homeVirtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park.A trail town1.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, more than 81% of U.S. towns.History along the way4 places on the National Register.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Walden have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Walden is ahead of 94% of U.S. towns, #86 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 Walden’s overall grade.
Conserved land12% of the land · typical NY town 5% · U.S. 4%A−Trails1.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (2 mi) · NY 0.4 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land22 acres of park per 1,000 residents (154 acres) · NY 31 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to homeVirtually all residents within a half mile of a park · NY 70% · U.S. 72%A+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 94%
LessMore
New York towns of 2,500+ (758)Ahead of 89%
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 James W. Olley Park, with 1.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Marcus "Mickey" Millspaugh Riverfront Park
Park
1 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 5 parks & preserves
James W. Olley Park87 acres · 1.3 mi of trail · Village of Walden
DirectionsMarcus "Mickey" Millspaugh Riverfront Park1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsBradley Park20 acres
DirectionsWooster Memorial Grove Park7 acres
DirectionsMartin "Marty" Besdesky Playground1 acres · Village of Walden
Who protects it
149 conserved acres
12% of Walden’s land. Who manages Walden’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Other or Unknown Local Government142 ac
Town or city142 ac
Private owners1 ac
Local Park · 284 acPrivate Other or Unknown · 1 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 5 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Walden Village of Land Local Park | Town or city | 142 | Unknown |
| James Olley Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 99 | Open |
| Bradley Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 37 | Open |
| Wooster Grove Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 7 | Open |
| Private Lands Private Other or Unknown | Private owners | 1 | Closed |
Things to do
7 places to go in Walden
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Walden
6 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Disc golf in Walden
James W. Olley Park Disc GolfIn James W. Olley Park · Village of Walden
DirectionsTrails & water
3 named trails
Named trails
Unpaved · 1.1 mi
Long Trail0.5 mi
Short Trail0.3 mi
Nature Trail0.1 mi
Biking & sports
0.5 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.5 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
5Baseball
5Basketball
3Tennis
1Skate park
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Walden: April, 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) | 9.5 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.5 | 15.2 | 14.9 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.2 |
| High (°F) | 35 | 38 | 47 | 60 | 71 | 79 | 84 | 82 | 75 | 63 | 50 | 40 |
| Rain (in) | 3.0 | 2.5 | 3.4 | 3.6 | 3.6 | 4.4 | 4.1 | 4.2 | 4.3 | 4.4 | 3.2 | 3.6 |
February is the driest month (2.5 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 4.4 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Walden →
Questions about parks and trails in Walden
Where can I hike in Walden?
The longest trail networks: James W. Olley Park, 1.3 miles; Marcus "Mickey" Millspaugh Riverfront Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Walden is conserved land?
12% 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 Walden’s trails?
James W. Olley Park and Bradley Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Walden?
0.5 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.5 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Walden?
20,878 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Walden or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 154 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Walden have?
Ahead of 94% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #86 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 Walden 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 →