Few parks or trails are on the map in Highland Lakes
3 acres are parks and preserves, 0.5 per 1,000 residents. 62% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 9% of U.S. towns · #164 of 187 in Alabama. What drives it
How much outdoors does Highland Lakes have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Highland Lakes is ahead of 9% of U.S. towns, #164 of 187 in Alabama. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
Few Alabama towns conserve much land (a typical one, 1%; the U.S., 4%), so Highland Lakes’ under 1% is ahead of 6% of Alabama towns, while its trails per square mile lead 6% of them.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
1 lakes & rivers
The best walking months in Highland Lakes: 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 | 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 | 81 | 87 | 90 | 90 | 85 | 75 | 64 | 56 |
| Rain (in) | 5.4 | 5.5 | 5.6 | 5.2 | 4.3 | 5.1 | 5.0 | 4.3 | 4.2 | 3.5 | 4.6 | 5.2 |
October is the driest month (3.5 in) and July the warmest (highs of 90 °F). 5.6 inches fall in March, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 90 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Highland Lakes →
Highland Lakes 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Highland Lakes | under 1% | under 0.1 | 1 | 62% | D |
| Chelsea | under 1% | 0.1 | 3 | 21% | D |
| Hoover | 2% | 0.8 | 9 | 58% | B− |
| Shoal Creek | under 1% | 0.3 | 5 | 48% | C− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Highland Lakes
How much of Highland Lakes 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.
Is there public land near Highland Lakes?
11,576 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Highland Lakes or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 3 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Highland Lakes have?
Ahead of 9% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #164 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 Highland Lakes neighbors.
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 →