Choccolocco Park
Park
319 acres3.7 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: Rivers Langley; SaveRivers · CC BY-SA 3.0B−Outdoors
Outdoors in Oxford
Oxford has 481 acres of parks, 22 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Choccolocco Park (3.7 mi), Oxford Lake Park (0.8 mi). 33% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 6.0 miles of mapped trail cross Oxford, 0.2 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 45% of U.S. towns · #44 of 187 in Alabama. What drives it
Conserved land
4%
782 acres · of 32.0 sq mi of land
Trails
6.0 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
481 ac
22 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
33%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
4
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Oxford have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Oxford is ahead of 45% of U.S. towns, #44 of 187 in Alabama. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Oxford’s overall grade.
Conserved land4% of the land · typical AL town 1% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (6 mi) · AL 0.1 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land22 acres of park per 1,000 residents (481 acres) · AL 8 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home33% 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 45%
LessMore
Alabama towns of 2,500+ (187)Ahead of 77%
Few Alabama towns conserve much land (a typical one, 1%; the U.S., 4%), so Oxford’s 4% is ahead of 83% of Alabama towns, while its trails per square mile lead 62% of them.
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 Choccolocco Park, with 3.7 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Coldwater Mountain Doug Ghee Nature Preserve and Recreation Area
Managed by Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
28 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Talladega National Forest
Managed by United States Forest Service
5 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 6 parks & preserves
Choccolocco Park319 acres · 3.7 mi of trail
DirectionsOxford Lake Park90 acres · 0.8 mi of trail
DirectionsColdwater Mountain Doug Ghee Nature Preserve and Recreation Area28 acres · Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
Talladega National Forest5 acres · United States Forest Service
Coldwater Creek Memorial Park1 acres
DirectionsSimmons Park1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
782 conserved acres
4% of Oxford’s land. Who manages Oxford’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city427 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits324 ac
State natural resources36 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)14 ac
U.S. Forest Service5 ac
Local Park · 427 acUnknown Easement · 324 acState Recreation Area · 28 acConservation Easement · 14 acResource Management Area · 9 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 314 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Choccolocco Park Local Park | Town or city | 318 | Open |
| Oxford Community Park Local Park | Town or city | 109 | Open |
| Coldwater Mountain State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 28 | Open |
| State-owned Submerged Lands Resource Management Area | State natural resources | 9 | Open |
| Talladega National Forest National Forest | U.S. Forest Service | 5 | Open |
Things to do
18 places to go in Oxford
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in Oxford
Oxford City PoolIn Oxford Lake Park
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Oxford
Freedom ParkIn Oxford Lake Park
DirectionsPlus 11 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Picnic areas in Oxford
5 picnic areas without a name on the map.
Trails & water
4 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Courts & fields
17Baseball
15Tennis
12Softball
9Tracks
4Soccer
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →4 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
When to get out
The best walking months in Oxford: 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 | 81 | 88 | 90 | 90 | 85 | 76 | 65 | 57 |
| Rain (in) | 5.2 | 5.2 | 5.5 | 4.6 | 4.3 | 4.6 | 4.7 | 3.9 | 3.4 | 3.4 | 4.5 | 4.9 |
October is the driest month (3.4 in) and July the warmest (highs of 90 °F). 5.5 inches fall in March, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 90 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Oxford →
Next door
Oxford and its neighbors
Oxford has the second most mapped trails of the 3 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oxford | 4% | 0.2 | 22 | 33% | B− |
| Anniston | 19% | 2.0 | 189 | 51% | A |
| Hobson City | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Oxford
Where can I hike in Oxford?
The longest trail networks: Choccolocco Park, 3.7 miles; Oxford Lake Park, 0.8 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Oxford is conserved land?
4% 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 Oxford’s trails?
Choccolocco Park and Oxford Lake Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Oxford?
85,724 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Oxford or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 490 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Oxford have?
Ahead of 45% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #44 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 Oxford 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 →