Rec center of Roanoke
Park
91 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Rivers Langley, http://www.phoenixrivers.blogspot.com · Public domainC−Outdoors
Outdoors in Roanoke
Roanoke has 93 acres of parks, 17 for every 1,000 residents
0.3 miles of mapped trail cross Roanoke. 40% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 22% of U.S. towns · #103 of 187 in Alabama. What drives it
Conserved land
under 1%
33 acres · of 18.7 sq mi of land
Trails
0.3 mi
0.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
93 ac
17 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
40%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
5
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Roanoke have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Roanoke is ahead of 22% of U.S. towns, #103 of 187 in Alabama. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
C−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Roanoke’s overall grade.
Conserved landunder 1% of the land · typical AL town 1% · U.S. 4%C−Trails0.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (0 mi) · AL 0.1 · U.S. 0.4C−Park land17 acres of park per 1,000 residents (93 acres) · AL 8 · U.S. 13BParks close to home40% 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 22%
LessMore
Alabama towns of 2,500+ (187)Ahead of 45%
Few Alabama towns conserve much land (a typical one, 1%; the U.S., 4%), so Roanoke’s under 1% is ahead of 21% of Alabama towns, while its trails per square mile lead 16% of them.
NoteFew parks or trails are mapped in Roanoke. 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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
33 conserved acres
under 1% of Roanoke’s land. Who manages Roanoke’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city33 ac
Local Park · 33 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Roanoke Recreation Center Local Park | Town or city | 32 | Open |
| Kids Town Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
1 places to go in Roanoke
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Roanoke
Kid's Town
DirectionsTrails & water
5 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
8Baseball
4Tennis
3Tracks
3Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Roanoke Downtown Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1993
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Roanoke: 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 | 11.0 | 11.9 | 13.0 | 13.9 | 14.3 | 14.1 | 13.4 | 12.3 | 11.3 | 10.4 | 10.0 |
| High (°F) | 55 | 60 | 67 | 75 | 82 | 87 | 90 | 89 | 84 | 75 | 65 | 57 |
| Rain (in) | 5.1 | 5.0 | 5.3 | 4.7 | 3.9 | 4.8 | 4.9 | 4.2 | 3.4 | 3.3 | 4.2 | 5.4 |
October is the driest month (3.3 in) and July the warmest (highs of 90 °F). 5.4 inches fall in December, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 90 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Roanoke →
Questions about parks and trails in Roanoke
How much of Roanoke 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 Roanoke’s trails?
Rec center of Roanoke doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Roanoke?
1,274 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Roanoke or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 93 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Roanoke have?
Ahead of 22% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #103 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 Roanoke 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 →