Lafayette Park
Managed by Town of Waterloo
4 acres0.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto Court Parking
Photo: Doug Kerr from now in Binghamton, NY · CC BY-SA 2.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Waterloo
99% of residents live within a half mile of a park in Waterloo
2.1 miles of mapped trail cross Waterloo, 1.0 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Lafayette Park (0.5 mi). 46 acres are parks and preserves, 9.9 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 75% of U.S. towns · #291 of 758 in New York. What drives it
Conserved land
3%
47 acres · of 2.2 sq mi of land
Trails
2.1 mi
1.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
46 ac
9.9 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
2
1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Waterloo?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Waterloo have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Waterloo is ahead of 75% of U.S. towns, #291 of 758 in New York. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Waterloo’s overall grade.
Conserved land3% of the land · typical NY town 5% · U.S. 4%B−Trails1.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (2 mi) · NY 0.4 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land9.9 acres of park per 1,000 residents (46 acres) · NY 31 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to home99% 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 75%
LessMore
New York towns of 2,500+ (758)Ahead of 62%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B 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 Lafayette Park, with 0.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Oak Island Village Park
Managed by Town of Waterloo
7 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Women's Rights National Historical Park
Managed by National Park Service
3 acres
Dogs usually limited
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Memorial Day Park
Managed by City of Waterloo
1 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 5 parks & preserves
Lafayette Park4 acres · 0.5 mi of trail · Town of Waterloo
DirectionsOak Island Village Park7 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · Town of Waterloo
DirectionsWomen's Rights National Historical Park3 acres · National Park Service
DirectionsMemorial Day Park1 acres · City of Waterloo
DirectionsLuce's Park1 acres · The Village of Waterloo
Who protects it
47 conserved acres
3% of Waterloo’s land. Who manages Waterloo’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Other state land31 ac
Town or city9 ac
Regional agency7 ac
National Park Service3 ac
County1 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government1 ac
State Recreation Area · 31 acLocal Park · 10 acLocal Other or Unknown · 7 acHistoric or Cultural Area · 3 acLocal Resource Management Area · 1 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 4 of 8 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cayuga-Seneca Canal State Recreation Area | Other state land | 31 | Open |
| Oak Island Park Local Park | Town or city | 7 | Open |
| Waterloo Central School Dist Land Local Other or Unknown | Regional agency | 6 | Unknown |
| Women's Rights National Historical Park Historic or Cultural Area | National Park Service | 3 | Restricted |
| Village Of Waterloo Land Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Unknown |
| Seneca County Land Local Park | County | 1 | Unknown |
| Waterloo Central School Dist. Land Local Other or Unknown | Regional agency | 1 | Unknown |
| Waterloo Village Lands Local Resource Management Area | Other or Unknown Local Government | 1 | Open |
Things to do
9 places to go in Waterloo
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Waterloo
Skoi Yase Playground
DirectionsSwingset
DirectionsWaterloo Community Center Playground
DirectionsWaterloo Community Center Spray Park
DirectionsPlus 2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Waterloo
Beverly Dog ParkHours: Mon–Sat 9 am – 5 pm
DirectionsBoat launches in Waterloo
Oak Island Boat Launch
DirectionsScenic views in Waterloo
1 scenic view without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
1 named trail and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Cayuga-Seneca Canal Trail0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Courts & fields
8Baseball
4Tennis
1Skate park
1Football
1Basketball
1Multi-sport
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Waterloo: May 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 | 15.3 | 15.0 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.7 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 32 | 34 | 43 | 56 | 69 | 77 | 81 | 80 | 73 | 60 | 48 | 37 |
| Rain (in) | 2.3 | 1.9 | 2.5 | 3.0 | 3.2 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.6 | 3.5 | 3.7 | 2.8 | 2.7 |
February is the driest month (1.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 81 °F). 3.7 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Waterloo →
Next door
Waterloo 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waterloo | 3% | 1.0 | 10 | 99% | A− |
| Seneca Falls | 7% | 0.7 | 61 | 81% | A− |
| Fayette | 2% | 0.1 | 58 | 27% | C+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Waterloo
Where can I hike in Waterloo?
The longest trail networks: Lafayette Park, 0.5 miles; Oak Island Village Park, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Waterloo is conserved land?
3% 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 Waterloo’s trails?
Lafayette Park and Oak Island Village Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Waterloo?
4,182 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Waterloo or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 46 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Waterloo have?
Ahead of 75% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #291 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 Waterloo 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 →