Gordon Davis Park
Park
17 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
C−Outdoors
Outdoors in Cottondale
Cottondale has 25 acres of parks, 9.3 for every 1,000 residents
0.2 miles of mapped trail cross Cottondale, 0.1 per square mile of land. 54% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 19% of U.S. towns · #121 of 187 in Alabama. What drives it
Conserved land
under 1%
0 acres · of 3.4 sq mi of land
Trails
0.2 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
25 ac
9.3 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
54%
of residents within ½ mile
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Cottondale have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Cottondale is ahead of 19% of U.S. towns, #121 of 187 in Alabama. All four inputs are below most U.S. towns; the share of residents near a park comes closest.
C−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Cottondale’s overall grade.
Conserved landunder 1% of the land · typical AL town 1% · U.S. 4%DTrails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (0 mi) · AL 0.1 · U.S. 0.4C−Park land9.3 acres of park per 1,000 residents (25 acres) · AL 8 · U.S. 13C+Parks close to home54% 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 Cottondale’s under 1% is ahead of 6% of Alabama towns, while its trails per square mile lead 32% of them.
NoteFew parks or trails are mapped in Cottondale. 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 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
The longest trail network is Gordon Davis Park, with 0.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
University of Alabama Arboretum
Park
4 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Things to do
2 places to go in Cottondale
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Cottondale
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
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
9Baseball
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Cottondale: 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 | 11.0 | 11.9 | 13.0 | 13.9 | 14.3 | 14.1 | 13.4 | 12.3 | 11.3 | 10.4 | 10.0 |
| High (°F) | 55 | 60 | 68 | 76 | 83 | 89 | 91 | 91 | 86 | 77 | 66 | 58 |
| Rain (in) | 5.5 | 5.6 | 5.1 | 5.2 | 3.9 | 4.6 | 4.6 | 4.4 | 3.7 | 3.4 | 4.5 | 5.2 |
October is the driest month (3.4 in) and July the warmest (highs of 91 °F). 5.6 inches fall in February, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 91 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Cottondale →
Next door
Cottondale and its neighbors
Cottondale has the second most mapped trails of the 2 towns around it. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cottondale | under 1% | 0.1 | 9 | 54% | C− |
| Tuscaloosa | 3% | 0.9 | 15 | 64% | B |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Cottondale
Where can I hike in Cottondale?
The longest trail networks: Gordon Davis Park, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Cottondale is conserved land?
under 1% 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 Cottondale’s trails?
Gordon Davis Park and University of Alabama Arboretum don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Cottondale?
5,915 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Cottondale or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 25 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Cottondale 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 Cottondale 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 →