The biggest trail networks: Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge (4.3 mi), Wilson Morgan Park (2.9 mi), Point Mallard Park (2.1 mi). 28 miles of mapped trail cross Decatur, 0.5 per square mile of land. 815 acres are parks and preserves, 14 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 73% of U.S. towns · #9 of 187 in Alabama. What drives it
Conserved land
16%
5,659 acres · of 54.6 sq mi of land
Trails
28 mi
0.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
815 ac
14 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
66%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
12 mi
2.1 mi lanes · 5.0 mi paths
Highest peak
883 ft
Burleson Mountain
Lakes & rivers
4
1 beach · 5 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Decatur?
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, Decatur is ahead of 73% of U.S. towns, #9 of 187 in Alabama. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; conserved land ranks highest, the share of residents near a park lowest.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Decatur’s overall grade.
Few Alabama towns conserve much land (a typical one, 1%; the U.S., 4%), so Decatur’s 16% is ahead of 97% of Alabama towns, while its trails per square mile lead 86% of them.
Water is 11% of Decatur’s area (6 of 61 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 15%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B 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.
16% of Decatur’s land. Water is left out: Decatur has 54.6 square miles of land and 6.4 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Decatur’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Tennessee Valley Authority2,925 ac
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service1,455 ac
State natural resources1,432 ac
Town or city586 ac
State fish & wildlife208 ac
National Wildlife Refuge · 3,385 acResource Management Area · 1,432 acFederal Other or Unknown · 942 acLocal Park · 586 acState Conservation Area · 208 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 37 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
Parcel (PAD-US)
Managed by
Acres
Public access
Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge
National Wildlife Refuge
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
3,385
Restricted
State-owned Submerged Lands
Resource Management Area
State natural resources
1,432
Open
Wheeler Reservoir Retained Land
Federal Other or Unknown
Tennessee Valley Authority
942
Unknown
Mallard-fox Creek Wildlife Management Area
Conservation Area
Tennessee Valley Authority
261
Open
Point Mallard Park
Local Park
Town or city
149
Open
Wilson Morgan Park
Local Park
Town or city
118
Open
Jack Allen Soccer Complex
Local Park
Town or city
80
Open
Ingalls Harbor
Local Park
Town or city
37
Open
Delano Park
Local Park
Town or city
31
Open
Aquadome Park
Local Park
Town or city
26
Open
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
55 places to go in Decatur
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Decatur
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Decatur
36 playgrounds are on OpenStreetMap in all; the list shows named ones from the first 30.
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
2.1 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
5.0 mi
off-road bike paths
4.7 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Dr. Bill Sims Hike-Bike WayBike route
2.5 mi
Courts & fields
45Tennis
29Baseball
29Soccer
13Basketball
10Tracks
7Softball
4Football
3Volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
14 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.
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
14.0
14.5
14.3
13.4
12.3
11.2
10.3
9.8
High (°F)
51
56
64
73
80
87
90
90
85
74
63
54
Rain (in)
5.1
5.1
5.2
5.3
4.5
4.1
4.5
3.7
3.7
3.6
4.3
5.7
October is the driest month (3.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 90 °F). 5.7 inches fall in December, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 90 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Decatur →
Next door
Decatur and its neighbors
Decatur has the second most mapped trails of the 5 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Decatur
Where can I hike in Decatur?
The longest trail networks: Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge, 4.3 miles; Wilson Morgan Park, 2.9 miles; Point Mallard Park, 2.1 miles; Delano Park, 1.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Decatur is conserved land?
16% 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 Decatur’s trails?
Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge and Wilson Morgan Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Decatur?
12 miles of bike routes are on the map: 2.1 of painted or protected lanes, 5.0 of off-road paths and 4.7 of shoulders and shared lanes. Named routes: Dr. Bill Sims Hike-Bike Way.
Is there public land near Decatur?
20,056 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Decatur or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 2,201 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Decatur have?
Ahead of 73% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #9 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 Decatur neighbors.
Photo: WeaponizingArchitecture · CC BY-SA 4.0