Clemons Complex
Park
30 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: Amcannally · CC BY-SA 4.0DOutdoors
Outdoors in Gardendale
Gardendale has 85 acres of parks, 5.2 for every 1,000 residents
14% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 1.4 miles of mapped trail cross Gardendale, 0.1 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 12% of U.S. towns · #147 of 187 in Alabama. What drives it
Conserved land
under 1%
52 acres · of 23.1 sq mi of land
Trails
1.4 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
85 ac
5.2 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
14%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.8 mi
0.8 mi paths
Highest peak
761 ft
Easterwood Mountain
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Gardendale have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Gardendale is ahead of 12% of U.S. towns, #147 of 187 in Alabama. All four inputs are below most U.S. towns; park acres per resident come closest.
D
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Gardendale’s overall grade.
Conserved landunder 1% 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 land5.2 acres of park per 1,000 residents (85 acres) · AL 8 · U.S. 13CParks close to home14% 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 12%
LessMore
Alabama towns of 2,500+ (187)Ahead of 22%
Few Alabama towns conserve much land (a typical one, 1%; the U.S., 4%), so Gardendale’s under 1% is ahead of 22% of Alabama towns, while its trails per square mile lead 33% of them.
NoteFew parks or trails are mapped in Gardendale. 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 D 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 Clemons Complex, with 0.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Lexington Park Trail Area
Park
7 acres0.3 mi of trail
Lexington Park Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
52 conserved acres
under 1% of Gardendale’s land. Who manages Gardendale’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city52 ac
Local Park · 42 acLocal Recreation Area · 9 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gardendale Kiddie Park Local Park | Town or city | 42 | Open |
| Luman Harris Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 9 | Open |
Things to do
6 places to go in Gardendale
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Gardendale
McDonald's PlayPlace
DirectionsPlus 3 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Gardendale
1 dog park without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Peaks in Gardendale
Easterwood Mountain761 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
4 named trails
Named trails
Lexington Park Trail0.4 mi
Kimberly Alley0.2 mi
Gardendale Alley0.2 mi
Mount Olive Alley0.2 mi
Biking & sports
0.8 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.8 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
20Baseball
11Pickleball
10Soccer
9Tennis
1Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Gardendale: 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) | 54 | 59 | 67 | 75 | 82 | 88 | 91 | 90 | 86 | 76 | 65 | 56 |
| Rain (in) | 5.2 | 5.5 | 5.5 | 5.1 | 4.6 | 4.9 | 5.1 | 4.3 | 3.9 | 3.4 | 4.5 | 5.2 |
October is the driest month (3.4 in) and July the warmest (highs of 91 °F). 5.5 inches fall in March, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 91 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Gardendale →
Next door
Gardendale and its neighbors
Gardendale 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gardendale | under 1% | 0.1 | 5 | 14% | D |
| Fultondale | under 1% | 0.1 | 3 | 31% | D |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Gardendale
Where can I hike in Gardendale?
The longest trail networks: Clemons Complex, 0.3 miles; Lexington Park Trail Area, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Gardendale 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 Gardendale’s trails?
Clemons Complex and Lexington Park Trail Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Gardendale?
0.8 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.8 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Gardendale?
6,026 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Gardendale or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 85 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Gardendale have?
Ahead of 12% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #147 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 Gardendale 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 →