Heritage Park
Park
64 acres2.6 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: Dave warren80 · CC BY-SA 4.0B−Outdoors
Outdoors in Cullman
Cullman has 12 miles of mapped trails, 0.5 for every square mile of land
The biggest trail networks: Heritage Park (2.6 mi), Sportsman Lake Park (2.5 mi). 269 acres are parks and preserves, 14 per 1,000 residents. 66% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 48% of U.S. towns · #35 of 187 in Alabama. What drives it
Conserved land
1%
137 acres · of 22.9 sq mi of land
Trails
12 mi
0.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
269 ac
14 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
66%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
12 mi
Lakes & rivers
3
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Cullman have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Cullman is ahead of 48% of U.S. towns, #35 of 187 in Alabama. Trail miles hold the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
B−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Cullman’s overall grade.
Conserved land1% of the land · typical AL town 1% · U.S. 4%CTrails0.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (12 mi) · AL 0.1 · U.S. 0.4BPark land14 acres of park per 1,000 residents (269 acres) · AL 8 · U.S. 13BParks close to home66% of residents within a half mile of a park · AL 36% · U.S. 72%B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 48%
LessMore
Alabama towns of 2,500+ (187)Ahead of 82%
Few Alabama towns conserve much land (a typical one, 1%; the U.S., 4%), so Cullman’s 1% is ahead of 50% of Alabama towns, while its trails per square mile lead 85% of them.
Water is 6% of Cullman’s area (1 of 24 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 1%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to B. 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 Heritage Park, with 2.6 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Sportsman Lake Park
Park
130 acres2.5 mi of trail
Intermediate bike path
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Nesmith Park
Park
9 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 9 parks & preserves
Heritage Park64 acres · 2.6 mi of trail
DirectionsSportsman Lake Park130 acres · 2.5 mi of trail
DirectionsMargaret Ingle Park20 acres
DirectionsNesmith Park9 acres
Depot Park6 acres
DirectionsEast Side Park5 acres
Stieflemeyer Park3 acres
Main Avenue Park2 acres
Culpepper Park2 acres
Who protects it
137 conserved acres
1% of Cullman’s land. Water is left out: Cullman has 22.9 square miles of land and 1.3 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Cullman’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city104 ac
County33 ac
Local Recreation Area · 75 acLocal Park · 45 acLocal Other or Unknown · 17 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Heritage Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 62 | Open |
| Cullman County Fairgrounds Local Other or Unknown | County | 17 | Open |
| Sportsman Lake Park Local Park | County | 14 | Open |
| Nesmith Park Local Park | Town or city | 13 | Open |
| Miracle Field Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 13 | Open |
| Margaret Ingle Park Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| East Side Park Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Open |
| Main Avenue Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Depot Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Cullman Veterans Memorial Park Local Park | County | 2 | Open |
1 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
8 places to go in Cullman
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Cullman
Splash PadIn Heritage Park
DirectionsPlus 6 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Cullman
1 dog park without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
3 named trails and 3 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 2.4 miUnpaved · 3.1 mi
Intermediate bike path2.4 mi
County Road 16010.5 mi
County Road 16020.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
12 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
12 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Sportsman Lake National Recreation TrailBike route
2.4 miCourts & fields
18Baseball
11Tennis
6Tracks
4Basketball
3Soccer
1Beach volleyball
1Skate park
1Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →6 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 6 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Louisville and Nashville Railroad DepotBuilding · listed 1976
About itStiefelmeyer'sBuilding · listed 1983
About itAve Maria GrottoDistrict · listed 1984
About itCullman Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1984
About itCullman Downtown Commercial Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1985
About itErnest Edward Greene HouseBuilding · listed 1993
About itWhen to get out
May is the best month for walking in Cullman
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 | 10.3 | 9.9 |
| High (°F) | 51 | 56 | 64 | 73 | 80 | 86 | 89 | 89 | 84 | 74 | 63 | 54 |
| Rain (in) | 5.6 | 5.3 | 5.6 | 5.5 | 4.6 | 4.6 | 4.5 | 3.9 | 4.1 | 3.8 | 4.7 | 6.0 |
October is the driest month (3.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 89 °F). 6.0 inches fall in December, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 89 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Cullman →
Questions about parks and trails in Cullman
Where can I hike in Cullman?
The longest trail networks: Heritage Park, 2.6 miles; Sportsman Lake Park, 2.5 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Cullman is conserved land?
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 Cullman’s trails?
Heritage Park and Sportsman Lake Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Cullman?
12 miles of bike routes are on the map: 12 of shoulders and shared lanes. Named routes: Sportsman Lake National Recreation Trail.
Is there public land near Cullman?
1,100 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Cullman or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 269 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Cullman have?
Ahead of 48% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #35 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 Cullman 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 →