Green Lakes is such a beautiful place. Love walking around the 2 lakes, such a quiet and peaceful…read morewalk. Lots of walking trails, campground, kayak rentals and swimming. Everyone should go to Green Lakes at least once, Highly Recommend !!

While renewing my Empire Pass last year at a local state park, I chatted with the ranger about…read morefavorite ones throughout the state. When he learned that I had been to over 100 of them but hadn't been to Green Lakes he urged me to check that one off the list pronto. And you know how that goes: when someone tells you how great something is, that place suddenly starts popping up more and more in your social feeds. Well, after seeing it featured on the socials for I Love NY and NYS Parks, I finally made the trip to Central New York outside of Syracuse (wait, I can call Syracuse "Central New York" on here, right? :) ), and I was not disappointed at all. My visit was early on an October Saturday, and lots of runners and walkers were around. And a fair amount of ducks too. A mostly level 2.5-mile loop around Green Lake and another mile-ish loop around practically adjacent Round Lake (which is also a Registered National Landmark) made for a wonderful morning stroll. I was just walking and taking pictures, but clearly this is a spot where runners meet and get in a workout together. The lakes are beautiful, and, yeah, have an emerald-green glow at times. I'm really glad I made the trip there, and will definitely revisit one day.

This park is so lovely! And much bigger than I expected it to be…read more Situated along Owasco Lake, there are beach areas, a dog park, sizeable pavilions, a boat launch, and all sorts of spaces (the Merry-Go Round Playhouse Theater is also located in this park). My one complaint? There could certainly be more / better signage. When looking for the bathroom recently, the first closed one (over by Merry-Go Round) directed you to the large pavilion on the main (other) side of the park. When there, you were directed to actually use the bathrooms at the little league field (up near the entrance back on the other side of the park). Also, for newcomers who are trying to find the dog park or whatnot, some extra signage would be helpful (the dog park is kinda tucked away). TL;DR Very much enjoyed my recent visit here - I'll be back! :)

Funny story- I accidentally ended up at Long Branch (LB) Park when I was suppose to be at another…read morenearby park. There was a huge event occurring for a good cause so we decided to hang out for an hour or so. Parking is ample. There are 3 shelters in the park and appear to be well maintained. All 3 shelters and bathrooms are in close proximity to each other and the parking lot. There is quite an incline from the parking lot to the shelters, note for accessibility. There is a small toddler friendly playground near the shelters and a couple short walking trails. The wooded areas have tall, mature trees flanking the trails. There are nice views of the nearby river. The only detractor for me is that no matter where you are in the park you can hear the traffic, either from the nearby road or the thruway. It takes away from the atmosphere. Also the one lane LB bridge that goes over the river is in very rough shape, drive slowly so as to not damage your vehicle and for general safety. Overall, a nice area for a gathering. Please note: LB Park is not Onondaga Lake Park. :)

Beautiful spring day, the employees are all hard at work making repairs and cleaning up. The…read morefragrant mowed grass and bearded Iris are beautiful! There are several trails to walk and lots of memorial benches to stop and rest or just take in the scenery. There is a pavilion to rent with lots of tables and grassy areas to have a picnic. I've just seen someone with a fishing pole!

An excellent place for a walk, bike riding, jog, dog walk, casual walk with loved ones and for…read moresimply relaxing. Always well maintained and clean. I've been to many of the different Locks along the Erie Canal and this is one of my favorite stretches with so much to offer.

Medium sized fully fenced dog park with a partition separating large dogs from small dogs. Pea…read moregravel mostly so the dogs didn't get too dirty despite the drizzly weather. BYOB (bring your own bowl) for the pups to drink water. There was a faucet but that's it. Bathrooms nearby and located within a nice little park.

Pretty place to go for a walk away from the hustle & bustle of Syracuse :) would recommend for…read morewatching dogs play when you're stressed with finals.

A delightful little park just south of Aurora, NY (near Wells College). Even after growing up not…read moretoo far away - and having driven by numerous times while going back and forth to RIT for school - I only recently visited this park for the first time. It's smaller, but lovely and very clean. Plenty of parking for folks just visiting the beach area, using the picnic tables, and so on, as well as plenty of space for folks coming in with boats. Easy access to Cayuga Lake via the little marina area, and even includes a rentable cottage with plenty of amenities. Even includes a couple miles of hiking trails, though my pup much preferred hanging out in the water and wandering along the beach area. :) All in all, another very nice NYS Park option available. I love having another spot to put my Empire Pass to good use! (Without the Empire Pass, the typical entry fee per car is $7 - you can find out more info about fees/etc here: https://parks.ny.gov/parks/longpointfingerlakes/details.aspx)

Smallest state park in NYS and great place to be mid-week as few people are here...and it seems…read morebirds have already migrated through! Did not walk trails. Hoped they would be mowed to lessen my concern re ticks since I am visiting NY.

This is a great place to take kids who want to learn about the different kinds of trout in a…read morebeautiful park like setting. My grandson really enjoyed feeding the trout with the $2 bag of fish food pellets.

This Onondaga County facility is a great place to bring the entire family. Guests can see and…read moreexperience first-hand a state of the art fish rearing facility and enjoy the natural landscape of the well-maintained park setting. Great place to picnic and to support. This facility is a great resource and asset to the local community. Well done!

Heritage Park is a nice spot for finding recreation in the Cicero-North Syracuse area. I recently…read morevisited the park to play disc golf and played through the 9 hole course twice through. The course has 2 sets of tees so you can play each hole slightly differently each time through. The disc golf course is beginner friendly, though there is some occasional pedestrian traffic walking the trail that you need to watch out for. One of the tee areas has you tossing near the parking lot, and I wasn't a fan of that (I do think that may have been moved recently). The course is a mix of open holes and some wooded holes - a good quick round is easy to knock out here. The park has a children's playground, basketball courts, and a nice walking trail. It checks a lot of boxes for a fun spot to visit.

Park has all the essentials for a neighborhood: tennis court, baseball diamond, picnic tables, dog…read morepark, able parking, small playground, walking paths, and disc golf. I went for the disc golf, which was 9 holes and a tad confusing since the map was burned on the bathroom building. There are colored wooden cubes to tee off at each of the 9 holes, with the assumption that certain colors are harder difficulties, but yellow is not always the farthest or hardest. There are no pars listed so it's not for hardcore throwers but it's a decent walk. Baskets could also be improved with a stripe of colored paint to make them more visible, since there's no map or markers even pointing in the right direction like at most courses. It's flat, one hole through a wooded area, and relatively easy for a nice stroll while tossing frisbees with a friend.