Cosby Lake Park
Park
31 acres0.6 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: John Phelan · CC BY-SA 3.0C−Outdoors
Outdoors in Clay
Few parks or trails are on the map in Clay
The biggest trail networks: Cosby Lake Park (0.6 mi). 0.7 miles of mapped trail cross Clay, 0.1 per square mile of land. 38 acres are parks and preserves, 3.7 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 19% of U.S. towns · #121 of 187 in Alabama. What drives it
Conserved land
2%
126 acres · of 11.3 sq mi of land
Trails
0.7 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
38 ac
3.7 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
33%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
1,355 ft
Black Oak Mountain
Lakes & rivers
2
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Clay have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Clay is ahead of 19% of U.S. towns, #121 of 187 in Alabama. All four inputs are below most U.S. towns; conserved land comes closest.
C−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Clay’s overall grade.
Conserved land2% of the land · typical AL town 1% · U.S. 4%C+Trails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · AL 0.1 · U.S. 0.4C−Park land3.7 acres of park per 1,000 residents (38 acres) · AL 8 · U.S. 13CParks close to home33% 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 19%
LessMore
Alabama towns of 2,500+ (187)Ahead of 35%
Few Alabama towns conserve much land (a typical one, 1%; the U.S., 4%), so Clay’s 2% is ahead of 68% of Alabama towns, while its trails per square mile lead 34% of them.
NoteFew parks or trails are mapped in Clay. OpenStreetMap is mapped by volunteers and coverage varies from town to town, so a town with unmapped parks scores low on them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would still be 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 Cosby Lake Park, with 0.6 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
126 conserved acres
2% of Clay’s land. Who manages Clay’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits113 ac
Town or city12 ac
Conservation Easement · 113 acLocal Park · 12 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 113 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chalkville Bryant Park Local Park | Town or city | 7 | Open |
| Cosby Lake Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Clay City Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
Things to do
6 places to go in Clay
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Clay
4 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Peaks in Clay
Black Oak Mountain1,355 ft elevation
DirectionsKeeler Mountain1,132 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
2 lakes & rivers
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
7Baseball
3Tracks
2Volleyball
2Tennis
2Football
2Soccer
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Clay: 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) | 53 | 58 | 66 | 74 | 81 | 87 | 90 | 89 | 84 | 74 | 63 | 55 |
| Rain (in) | 5.4 | 5.5 | 5.7 | 5.3 | 4.6 | 5.0 | 5.1 | 4.4 | 4.0 | 3.5 | 4.5 | 5.4 |
October is the driest month (3.5 in) and July the warmest (highs of 90 °F). 5.7 inches fall in March, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 90 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Clay →
Next door
Clay 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clay | 2% | 0.1 | 4 | 33% | C− |
| Trussville | 1% | 0.1 | 11 | 26% | C− |
| Pinson | 7% | 0.6 | 73 | 18% | B+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Clay
Where can I hike in Clay?
The longest trail networks: Cosby Lake Park, 0.6 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Clay 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 Clay’s trails?
Cosby Lake Park doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Clay?
4,137 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Clay or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 38 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Clay have?
Ahead of 19% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #121 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 Clay 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 →