Jackson County Park
Park
40 acres0.9 mi of trail
county park shore and piers
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Carol M. Highsmith · Public domainB−Outdoors
Outdoors in Scottsboro
13% of Scottsboro’s land is conserved: 4,252 acres
The biggest trail networks: Jackson County Park (0.9 mi), King Caldwell Park (0.8 mi). 24% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 9.7 miles of mapped trail cross Scottsboro, 0.2 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 48% of U.S. towns · #38 of 187 in Alabama. What drives it
Conserved land
13%
4,252 acres · of 50.7 sq mi of land
Trails
9.7 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
198 ac
13 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
24%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.7 mi
Highest peak
1,381 ft
Tater Knob
Lakes & rivers
1
4 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Scottsboro?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Scottsboro have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Scottsboro is ahead of 48% of U.S. towns, #38 of 187 in Alabama. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Scottsboro’s overall grade.
Conserved land13% of the land · typical AL town 1% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (10 mi) · AL 0.1 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land13 acres of park per 1,000 residents (198 acres) · AL 8 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to home24% 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 48%
LessMore
Alabama towns of 2,500+ (187)Ahead of 80%
Few Alabama towns conserve much land (a typical one, 1%; the U.S., 4%), so Scottsboro’s 13% is ahead of 96% of Alabama towns, while its trails per square mile lead 64% of them.
Water is 12% of Scottsboro’s area (7 of 57 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 12%.
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 Jackson County Park, with 0.9 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
King Caldwell Park
Park
20 acres0.8 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
North Sauty Refuge
Nature preserve
1,247 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
4,252 conserved acres
13% of Scottsboro’s land. Water is left out: Scottsboro has 50.7 square miles of land and 6.8 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Scottsboro’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Tennessee Valley Authority3,370 ac
State natural resources1,451 ac
Town or city129 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits45 ac
County23 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)11 ac
Federal Other or Unknown · 2,641 acConservation Area · 728 acResource Management Area · 725 acState Resource Management Area · 725 acLocal Park · 152 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 38 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 3 of 17 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Guntersville Reservoir Retained Land Federal Other or Unknown | Tennessee Valley Authority | 2,641 | Unknown |
| State-owned Submerged Lands Resource Management Area | State natural resources | 1,451 | Open |
| Jackson County Waterfowl Area And Refuge Conservation Area | Tennessee Valley Authority | 728 | Open |
| Goosepond Park Local Park | Town or city | 49 | Open |
| Bynum Complex Local Park | Town or city | 25 | Open |
| Jackson County Park Local Park | County | 23 | Open |
| Scottsboro City Dog Park Local Park | Town or city | 20 | Open |
| Caldwell Park Local Park | Town or city | 19 | Open |
| Veterans Memorial Park Local Park | Town or city | 9 | Open |
| Scottsboro Municipal Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
1 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
13 places to go in Scottsboro
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Scottsboro
4 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Scottsboro
Scottsboro Dog Park
DirectionsBoat launches in Scottsboro
4 boat launches without a name on the map.
Peaks in Scottsboro
Tater Knob1,381 ft elevation
DirectionsJuly Mountain1,348 ft elevation
DirectionsPoorhouse Mountain1,260 ft elevation
DirectionsCampgrounds in Scottsboro
1 campground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
3 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 4.5 mi
John R. Esslinger Trail of Champions2.0 mi
Goose Pond Colony Nature and Walking Trail1.8 mi
county park shore and piers0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
1.7 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.7 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
11Baseball
6Tennis
4Basketball
2Tracks
1Football
1Soccer
1Skate park
1Softball
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). The map also marks 1 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The best walking months in Scottsboro: 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 | 14.0 | 14.5 | 14.3 | 13.4 | 12.3 | 11.2 | 10.3 | 9.8 |
| High (°F) | 51 | 56 | 64 | 73 | 80 | 87 | 90 | 89 | 84 | 74 | 63 | 54 |
| Rain (in) | 5.4 | 5.2 | 5.6 | 5.1 | 4.0 | 4.5 | 4.9 | 3.9 | 4.0 | 3.6 | 4.6 | 5.6 |
October is the driest month (3.6 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 Scottsboro →
Next door
Scottsboro and its neighbors
Scottsboro has the 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scottsboro | 13% | 0.2 | 13 | 24% | B− |
| Hollywood | — 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 Scottsboro
Where can I hike in Scottsboro?
The longest trail networks: Jackson County Park, 0.9 miles; King Caldwell Park, 0.8 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Scottsboro is conserved land?
13% 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 Scottsboro’s trails?
Jackson County Park and King Caldwell Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Scottsboro?
1.7 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.7 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Scottsboro?
19,441 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Scottsboro or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,663 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Scottsboro have?
Ahead of 48% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #38 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 Scottsboro 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 →