Buck Hill State Forest
Nature preserve
1,417 acres0.7 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Gen. William Floyd House · Photo: Jack Boucher · Public domainBOutdoors
Outdoors in Western
Western has 4,574 acres of parks, 2,487 for every 1,000 residents
18% of Western’s land is conserved, about 5,844 acres. The biggest trail networks: Buck Hill State Forest (0.7 mi). 2.1 miles of mapped trail cross Western.
Ahead of 62% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
18%
5,844 acres · of 51.2 sq mi of land
Trails
2.1 mi
0.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
4,574 ac
2,487 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
28%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
1,585 ft
Clark Hill
Lakes & rivers
2
1 beach · 1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Western?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Western have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Western is ahead of 62% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Western’s overall grade.
Conserved land18% of the land · typical NY town 5% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (2 mi) · NY 0.4 · U.S. 0.4C−Park land2,487 acres of park per 1,000 residents (4,574 acres) · NY 31 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home28% 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 62%
LessMore
Water is 6% of Western’s area (3 of 55 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 17%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ 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 Buck Hill State Forest, with 0.7 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Clark Hill State Forest
Managed by New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
1,487 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Webster Hill State Forest
Nature preserve
524 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
South Hill State Forest
Managed by New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
489 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
All 5 parks & preserves
Buck Hill State Forest1,417 acres · 0.7 mi of trail
Webster Hill State Forest524 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Clark Hill State Forest1,487 acres · New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
South Hill State Forest489 acres · New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
Pixley Falls State Park5 acres · New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation
Who protects it
5,844 conserved acres
18% of Western’s land. Water is left out: Western has 51.2 square miles of land and 3.5 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Western’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State conservation3,982 ac
County1,290 ac
State parks534 ac
Other state land24 ac
Regional Water Districts10 ac
Town or city5 ac
State Conservation Area · 3,982 acLocal Conservation Area · 1,290 acState Park · 534 acState Recreation Area · 24 acLocal Resource Management Area · 10 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 11 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clark Hill State Forest State Conservation Area | State conservation | 1,542 | Open |
| Buck Hill State Forest State Conservation Area | State conservation | 1,420 | Open |
| Oneida County Reforestation Lands Local Conservation Area | County | 1,289 | Restricted |
| Delta Lake State Park State Park | State parks | 529 | Open |
| Webster Hill State Forest State Conservation Area | State conservation | 528 | Open |
| South Hill State Forest State Conservation Area | State conservation | 491 | Open |
| Cayuga-Seneca Canal State Recreation Area | Other state land | 24 | Open |
| Westernville Spring Water Lands Local Resource Management Area | Regional Water Districts | 10 | Open |
| Pixley Falls State Park State Park | State parks | 5 | Open |
| Town of Western Ballfield Land Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Unknown |
1 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
10 places to go in Western
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Western
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in Western
1 boat launch without a name on the map.
Peaks in Western
Clark Hill1,585 ft elevation
DirectionsMeszler Hill1,460 ft elevation
DirectionsBuck Hill1,398 ft elevation · In Buck Hill State Forest
DirectionsQuaker Hill1,322 ft elevation
DirectionsGifford Hill1,063 ft elevation
DirectionsTripp Pinnacle1,063 ft elevation
DirectionsHaynes Hill1,060 ft elevation
DirectionsDopp Hill948 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
2 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
History along the way
History →2 places on the National Register, one a National Historic Landmark
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
When to get out
The best walking months in Western: 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) | 9.3 | 10.4 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.7 | 15.4 | 15.1 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 28 | 31 | 40 | 54 | 67 | 75 | 79 | 78 | 71 | 58 | 45 | 34 |
| Rain (in) | 4.0 | 3.2 | 3.5 | 4.0 | 4.4 | 4.7 | 4.5 | 4.2 | 4.2 | 5.2 | 4.2 | 4.5 |
February is the driest month (3.2 in) and July the warmest (highs of 79 °F). 5.2 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Western →
Next door
Western 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Western | 18% | under 0.1 | 2,487 | 28% | B |
| Lee | 7% | 0.1 | 300 | 44% | B |
| Ava | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Steuben | 21% | under 0.1 | 6,682 | 23% | B |
| Rome | 17% | 0.2 | 121 | 83% | A− |
| Floyd | 2% | under 0.1 | 103 | 24% | C+ |
| Boonville | 20% | 0.6 | 1,298 | 61% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Western
Where can I hike in Western?
The longest trail networks: Buck Hill State Forest, 0.7 miles; Webster Hill State Forest, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Western is conserved land?
18% 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 Western’s trails?
Buck Hill State Forest and Clark Hill State Forest don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Western?
40,390 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Western or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 4,574 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Western have?
Ahead of 62% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade. 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 Western 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 →