Celebration Garden and Wellness Park
Park
10 acres0.7 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
BOutdoors
Outdoors in Barling
Barling has 300 acres of parks, 60 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Celebration Garden and Wellness Park (0.7 mi). 44% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 5% of Barling’s land is conserved, about 304 acres.
Ahead of 62% of U.S. towns · #11 of 123 in Arkansas. What drives it
Conserved land
5%
304 acres · of 10.3 sq mi of land
Trails
3.6 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
300 ac
60 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
44%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.6 mi
0.6 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
2
2 boat launches
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Barling have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Barling is ahead of 62% of U.S. towns, #11 of 123 in Arkansas. 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 Barling’s overall grade.
Conserved land5% of the land · typical AR town 1% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (4 mi) · AR 0.2 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land60 acres of park per 1,000 residents (300 acres) · AR 8 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home44% of residents within a half mile of a park · AR 46% · U.S. 72%C+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 62%
LessMore
Arkansas towns of 2,500+ (123)Ahead of 92%
Few Arkansas towns conserve much land (a typical one, 1%; the U.S., 4%), so Barling’s 5% is ahead of 91% of Arkansas towns, while its trails per square mile lead 67% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B− 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 Celebration Garden and Wellness Park, with 0.7 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
304 conserved acres
5% of Barling’s land. Who manages Barling’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Army Corps of Engineers296 ac
Town or city187 ac
Recreation Management Area · 296 acLocal Recreation Area · 187 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| J.P. Hammerschmidt Recreation Area Recreation Management Area | Army Corps of Engineers | 296 | Open |
| Springhill Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 183 | Open |
| Unknown Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 4 | Open |
Things to do
13 places to go in Barling
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Barling
8 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Barling
2 boat launches without a name on the map.
Picnic areas in Barling
3 picnic areas without a name on the map.
Trails & water
2 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.6 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.6 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
2Basketball
2Baseball
1Skate park
1Tennis
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The walking year in Barling
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) | 10.0 | 10.9 | 11.9 | 13.0 | 14.0 | 14.5 | 14.3 | 13.5 | 12.3 | 11.2 | 10.2 | 9.8 |
| High (°F) | 51 | 56 | 65 | 74 | 81 | 89 | 93 | 93 | 86 | 75 | 63 | 53 |
| Rain (in) | 3.2 | 3.0 | 4.3 | 5.1 | 6.0 | 4.6 | 3.7 | 4.0 | 4.4 | 4.4 | 4.4 | 3.8 |
February is the driest month (3.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 93 °F). 6.0 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 93 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Barling →
Next door
Barling and its neighbors
Barling 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barling | 5% | 0.4 | 60 | 44% | B |
| Fort Smith | 6% | 0.3 | 9 | 50% | B− |
| Central 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 Barling
Where can I hike in Barling?
The longest trail networks: Celebration Garden and Wellness Park, 0.7 miles; Barling City Park, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Barling is conserved land?
5% of its land, against a typical 1% for an Arkansas town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Barling’s trails?
Celebration Garden and Wellness Park and Barling City Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Barling?
0.6 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.6 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Barling?
10,517 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Barling or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 379 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Barling have?
Ahead of 62% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #11 of 123 in Arkansas. 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 Barling 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 →