Thompson Park
Managed by City of Watertown
29 acres1.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
COutdoors
Outdoors in Watertown
Watertown has 107 acres of parks, 19 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Thompson Park (1.3 mi). 20% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 3.5 miles of mapped trail cross Watertown, 0.1 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 26% of U.S. towns · #718 of 758 in New York. What drives it
Conserved land
1%
165 acres · of 35.7 sq mi of land
Trails
3.5 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
107 ac
19 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
20%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
945 ft
Dry Hill
Lakes & rivers
1
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Watertown have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Watertown is ahead of 26% of U.S. towns, #718 of 758 in New York. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
C
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Watertown’s overall grade.
Conserved land1% of the land · typical NY town 5% · U.S. 4%CTrails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (4 mi) · NY 0.4 · U.S. 0.4CPark land19 acres of park per 1,000 residents (107 acres) · NY 31 · U.S. 13BParks close to home20% 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 26%
LessMore
New York towns of 2,500+ (758)Ahead of 5%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C+. 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 Thompson Park, with 1.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Black River at Huntingtonville Waterway Access
Park
31 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto Black River TrailWebsite ↗
Who protects it
165 conserved acres
1% of Watertown’s land. Who manages Watertown’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Other state land115 ac
State conservation33 ac
State parks19 ac
State Resource Management Area · 115 acState Recreation Area · 51 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Watertown State Correctional Facility State Resource Management Area | Other state land | 115 | Open |
| Black River At Huntingtonville Waterway Access State Recreation Area | State conservation | 33 | Open |
| Black River Trail State Recreation Area | State parks | 19 | Open |
Things to do
4 places to go in Watertown
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Watertown
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Watertown
1 dog park without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Peaks in Watertown
Dry Hill945 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
1 named trail and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 2.3 miUnpaved · 2.4 mi
Wiley Blue 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
5Tennis
3Baseball
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 Watertown: 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) | 9.2 | 10.4 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.7 | 15.5 | 15.2 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 8.9 |
| High (°F) | 28 | 31 | 40 | 54 | 67 | 76 | 80 | 79 | 71 | 58 | 46 | 34 |
| Rain (in) | 3.4 | 2.6 | 2.8 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.7 | 3.5 | 3.7 | 3.9 | 4.7 | 3.9 | 3.7 |
February is the driest month (2.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 80 °F). 4.7 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Watertown →
Next door
Watertown 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Watertown | 1% | 0.1 | 19 | 20% | C |
| Brownville | 7% | 0.1 | 33 | 45% | B− |
| Rutland | 2% | 0.3 | 193 | 48% | B |
| Hounsfield | 4% | 0.6 | 30 | 38% | B |
| Le Ray | under 1% | 0.4 | 8 | 36% | C |
| Pamelia | 9% | 0.1 | 1 | 11% | C |
| Rodman | 19% | 0.4 | 3,297 | 29% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Watertown
Where can I hike in Watertown?
The longest trail networks: Thompson Park, 1.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Watertown is conserved land?
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 Watertown’s trails?
Thompson Park and Black River at Huntingtonville Waterway Access don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Watertown?
37,702 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Watertown or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 224 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Watertown have?
Ahead of 26% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #718 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 Watertown 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 →