Photo: Carol M. Highsmith · Public domainJackson has 98 acres of parks, 21 for every 1,000 residents
25% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 2% of Jackson’s land is conserved, about 154 acres. 1.9 miles of mapped trail cross Jackson, 0.1 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 32% of U.S. towns · #67 of 187 in Alabama. What drives it
What kind of outdoors town is Jackson?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
How much outdoors does Jackson have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Jackson is ahead of 32% of U.S. towns, #67 of 187 in Alabama. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
Few Alabama towns conserve much land (a typical one, 1%; the U.S., 4%), so Jackson’s 2% is ahead of 66% of Alabama towns, while its trails per square mile lead 51% 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.
Pick a walk
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
154 conserved acres
2% of Jackson’s land. Who manages Jackson’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| State-owned Submerged Lands Resource Management Area | State natural resources | 125 | Open |
| Jackson Recreation Park Local Park | Town or city | 16 | Open |
| Hw Pearce Jr Memorial Park Local Park | Town or city | 14 | Open |
1 places to go in Jackson
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
0.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
4 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
The best walking months in Jackson: 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) | 10.3 | 11.0 | 11.9 | 12.9 | 13.7 | 14.2 | 14.0 | 13.3 | 12.3 | 11.3 | 10.5 | 10.1 |
| High (°F) | 60 | 64 | 72 | 78 | 85 | 90 | 91 | 91 | 87 | 79 | 69 | 62 |
| Rain (in) | 5.8 | 5.1 | 5.5 | 4.5 | 4.1 | 5.9 | 6.0 | 5.0 | 4.6 | 3.7 | 4.4 | 5.7 |
October is the driest month (3.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 91 °F). 6.0 inches fall in July, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 91 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Jackson →
Questions about parks and trails in Jackson
How much of Jackson is conserved land?
2% 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 Jackson’s trails?
H.W. Pearce, Jr. Memorial Park doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Jackson?
1,456 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Jackson or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 226 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Jackson have?
Ahead of 32% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #67 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 Jackson 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 →