Anniston has 90 miles of mapped trails, 2.0 for every square mile of land
4,027 acres are parks and preserves, 189 per 1,000 residents. 19% of Anniston’s land is conserved, about 5,642 acres. The biggest trail networks: Coldwater Mountain Doug Ghee Nature Preserve and Recreation Area (41.5 mi), Mountain Longleaf National Wildlife Refuge (14 mi).
Ahead of 92% of U.S. towns · #3 of 187 in Alabama. What drives it
Conserved land
19%
5,642 acres · of 45.9 sq mi of land
Trails
90 mi
2.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
4,027 ac
189 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
51%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
5.5 mi
5.5 mi paths
Highest peak
1,949 ft
King Hill
Lakes & rivers
3
What kind of outdoors town is Anniston?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Anniston is ahead of 92% of U.S. towns, #3 of 187 in Alabama. Trail miles hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Anniston’s overall grade.
Few Alabama towns conserve much land (a typical one, 1%; the U.S., 4%), so Anniston’s 19% is ahead of 98% of Alabama towns, while its trails per square mile lead 99% of them.
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.
The longest trail network is Coldwater Mountain Doug Ghee Nature Preserve and Recreation Area, with 41.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Coldwater Mountain Doug Ghee Nature Preserve and Recreation Area
Managed by Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
Coldwater Mountain Doug Ghee Nature Preserve and Recreation Area3,863 acres · 41.5 mi of trail · Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
5.5 mi
off-road bike paths
Coldwater Trail System National Recreation TrailBike route
30.3 mi
Courts & fields
18Baseball
15Tennis
10Basketball
4Pickleball
4Football
3Tracks
1Soccer
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
46 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 3 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
The best walking months in Anniston: April and May
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)
10.1
10.9
11.9
13.0
13.9
14.4
14.2
13.4
12.3
11.3
10.4
9.9
High (°F)
54
58
66
74
81
87
89
89
84
75
64
56
Rain (in)
5.4
5.2
5.5
4.7
4.4
4.7
4.8
4.0
3.6
3.5
4.6
5.1
October is the driest month (3.5 in) and July the warmest (highs of 89 °F). 5.5 inches fall in March, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 89 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Anniston →
Next door
Anniston and its neighbors
Anniston has the most mapped trails of the 5 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
— not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Anniston
Where can I hike in Anniston?
The longest trail networks: Coldwater Mountain Doug Ghee Nature Preserve and Recreation Area, 41.5 miles; Mountain Longleaf National Wildlife Refuge, 14 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Anniston is conserved land?
19% of its land, against a typical 1% for an Alabama town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Anniston’s trails?
Coldwater Mountain Doug Ghee Nature Preserve and Recreation Area and Mountain Longleaf National Wildlife Refuge don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Anniston?
5.5 miles of bike routes are on the map: 5.5 of off-road paths. Named routes: Coldwater Trail System National Recreation Trail.
Is there public land near Anniston?
83,763 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Anniston or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 4,027 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Anniston have?
Ahead of 92% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #3 of 187 in Alabama. 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 Anniston neighbors.
Photo: Rivers Langley; SaveRivers · CC BY-SA 3.0