Watercress Darter National Wildlife Refuge
Managed by United States Fish and Wildlife Service
20 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Rudi Weikard · CC BY-SA 3.0COutdoors
Outdoors in Bessemer
Bessemer has 11 miles of mapped trails, 0.3 for every square mile of land
73 acres are parks and preserves, 2.9 per 1,000 residents. 48% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 2% of Bessemer’s land is conserved, about 523 acres.
Ahead of 29% of U.S. towns · #79 of 187 in Alabama. What drives it
Conserved land
2%
523 acres · of 40.7 sq mi of land
Trails
11 mi
0.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
73 ac
2.9 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
48%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.6 mi
0.6 mi paths
Highest peak
801 ft
Bee Mountain
Lakes & rivers
2
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Bessemer have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Bessemer is ahead of 29% of U.S. towns, #79 of 187 in Alabama. All four inputs are below most U.S. towns; trail miles come closest.
C
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Bessemer’s overall grade.
Conserved land2% of the land · typical AL town 1% · U.S. 4%C+Trails0.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (11 mi) · AL 0.1 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land2.9 acres of park per 1,000 residents (73 acres) · AL 8 · U.S. 13C−Parks close to home48% of residents within a half mile of a park · AL 36% · U.S. 72%C+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 29%
LessMore
Alabama towns of 2,500+ (187)Ahead of 58%
Few Alabama towns conserve much land (a typical one, 1%; the U.S., 4%), so Bessemer’s 2% is ahead of 73% of Alabama towns, while its trails per square mile lead 71% of them.
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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Legacy Park
Managed by Hunter Street Baptist Church
11 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Who protects it
523 conserved acres
2% of Bessemer’s land. Who manages Bessemer’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits434 ac
Town or city62 ac
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service39 ac
State natural resources9 ac
Unknown Easement · 396 acLocal Park · 62 acNational Wildlife Refuge · 39 acConservation Easement · 38 acResource Management Area · 9 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 432 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Watercress Darter National Wildlife Refuge National Wildlife Refuge | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 39 | Restricted |
| Roosevelt Park Local Park | Town or city | 21 | Open |
| Carver Park Local Park | Town or city | 14 | Open |
| State-owned Submerged Lands Resource Management Area | State natural resources | 9 | Open |
| Abrams Park Local Park | Town or city | 8 | Open |
| Mcneil Park Local Park | Town or city | 7 | Open |
| Southside Community Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Snitz Snider Memorial Stadium Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Debardeleben Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Alex Bradford Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
8 places to go in Bessemer
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in Bessemer
Kahuna Waves
DirectionsSalamander Bay
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Bessemer
McDonald's PlayPlace
DirectionsPlus 3 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Peaks in Bessemer
Bee Mountain801 ft elevation
DirectionsPicnic areas in Bessemer
1 picnic area without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
6 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Ridge Lane Alley0.4 mi
3rd Alley0.3 mi
Clarendon Alley0.2 mi
5th Alley0.1 mi
Somerset Alley0.1 mi
Norwood Alley0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.6 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.6 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
4Baseball
4Softball
3Tracks
2Basketball
2Tennis
1Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →7 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Thomas McAdory HouseBuilding · listed 1972
About itSouthern Railway Terminal StationBuilding · listed 1973
About itOwen Plantation HouseBuilding · listed 1976
About itDr. Thomas McAdory Owen HouseBuilding · listed 1982
About itDowntown Bessemer Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1992
About itCanaan Baptist ChurchBuilding · listed 2005
About itDunbar High SchoolBuilding · listed 2011
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Bessemer: 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) | 10.2 | 10.9 | 11.9 | 13.0 | 13.9 | 14.3 | 14.2 | 13.4 | 12.3 | 11.3 | 10.4 | 10.0 |
| High (°F) | 55 | 60 | 67 | 75 | 82 | 88 | 91 | 90 | 86 | 76 | 65 | 57 |
| Rain (in) | 5.3 | 5.4 | 5.3 | 5.0 | 4.2 | 4.7 | 4.9 | 4.0 | 3.9 | 3.3 | 4.5 | 5.0 |
October is the driest month (3.3 in) and July the warmest (highs of 91 °F). 5.4 inches fall in February, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 91 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Bessemer →
Next door
Bessemer 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bessemer | 2% | 0.3 | 3 | 48% | C |
| McCalla | 6% | 0.3 | 72 | 20% | B |
| Hueytown | 1% | 0.6 | 2 | 24% | C− |
| Hoover | 2% | 0.8 | 9 | 58% | B− |
| Lipscomb | under 1% | 0.9 | 2 | 62% | C |
| Helena | 3% | 0.3 | 9 | 54% | C+ |
| Birmingham | 4% | 0.5 | 22 | 77% | B+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Bessemer
Where can I hike in Bessemer?
The longest trail networks: Legacy Park, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Bessemer is conserved land?
2% 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 Bessemer’s trails?
Watercress Darter National Wildlife Refuge and Legacy Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Bessemer?
0.6 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.6 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Bessemer?
15,506 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Bessemer or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 84 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Bessemer have?
Ahead of 29% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #79 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 Bessemer 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 →