Van Buren Municipal Park
Park
62 acres0.8 mi of trail
Walking Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Brandonrush · CC BY-SA 3.0BOutdoors
Outdoors in Van Buren
7% of Van Buren’s land is conserved: 662 acres
The biggest trail networks: Van Buren Municipal Park (0.8 mi). 370 acres are parks and preserves, 16 per 1,000 residents. 71% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 63% of U.S. towns · #9 of 123 in Arkansas. What drives it
Conserved land
7%
662 acres · of 15.5 sq mi of land
Trails
4.9 mi
0.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
370 ac
16 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
71%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
1
1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Van Buren?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Van Buren have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Van Buren is ahead of 63% of U.S. towns, #9 of 123 in Arkansas. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; conserved land ranks highest, trail miles lowest.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Van Buren’s overall grade.
Conserved land7% of the land · typical AR town 1% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (5 mi) · AR 0.2 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land16 acres of park per 1,000 residents (370 acres) · AR 8 · U.S. 13BParks close to home71% of residents within a half mile of a park · AR 46% · U.S. 72%B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 63%
LessMore
Arkansas towns of 2,500+ (123)Ahead of 93%
Few Arkansas towns conserve much land (a typical one, 1%; the U.S., 4%), so Van Buren’s 7% is ahead of 96% of Arkansas towns, while its trails per square mile lead 64% 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 Van Buren Municipal Park, with 0.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Lee Creek Public Use Area
Park
120 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Field of Dreams Sports Complex
Park
50 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Kibler Ball Fields
Park
19 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 9 parks & preserves
Van Buren Municipal Park62 acres · 0.8 mi of trail
DirectionsMeyer Park7 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsLee Creek Public Use Area120 acres
Field of Dreams Sports Complex50 acres
Kibler Ball Fields19 acres
Natural Reserve10 acres
DirectionsLake Louemma Park2 acres
Veteran's Memorial Park2 acres
DirectionsVan Zandt Park1 acres
Who protects it
662 conserved acres
7% of Van Buren’s land. Who manages Van Buren’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Army Corps of Engineers471 ac
Town or city155 ac
Other or Unknown Federal Land118 ac
County29 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits6 ac
Recreation Management Area · 471 acLocal Park · 135 acLocal Recreation Area · 118 acLocal Conservation Area · 54 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 | 471 | Open |
| Lee Creek Park Local Recreation Area | Other or Unknown Federal Land | 118 | Open |
| Mr. Chad and Betty Ann Colley Wilderness Park Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 54 | Open |
| Field Of Dreams Sports Complex Local Park | Town or city | 51 | Open |
| Legacy Valley Park Local Park | Town or city | 25 | Open |
| Van Guren Municipal Park Local Park | Town or city | 22 | Open |
| Kibler Ball Fields Local Park | County | 19 | Open |
| Lake Louemma Park Local Park | County | 10 | Open |
| Meyer Park Local Park | Land trusts & nonprofits | 6 | Open |
| Freedom Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
1 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
5 places to go in Van Buren
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Van Buren
4 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Van Buren
1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
5 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 0.9 mi
Bekaert Loop0.9 mi
Walking Trail0.7 mi
River Road East0.6 mi
Ada Bell Circle0.1 mi
Azure Hills Circle0.1 mi
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
19Baseball
7Tennis
6Golf
3Basketball
1Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →18 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 4 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Drennen-Scott HouseBuilding · listed 1971
About itWilhauf HouseBuilding · listed 1974
About itBob Burns HouseBuilding · listed 1976
About itVan Buren Historic DistrictBuilding · listed 1976
About itJoseph Starr Dunham HouseBuilding · listed 1976
About itMount Olive United Methodist ChurchBuilding · listed 1976
About itBryan HouseBuilding · listed 1978
About itDr. Charles Fox Brown HouseBuilding · listed 1978
About itClarke-Harrell-Burson HouseBuilding · listed 1991
About itVan Buren Confederate MonumentObject · listed 1996
About itFairview Cemetery, Confederate SectionSite · listed 1996
About itVan Buren Post OfficeBuilding · listed 1998
About it6 more on the History page.
When to get out
The walking year in Van Buren
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 | 62 | 53 |
| Rain (in) | 3.1 | 2.9 | 4.3 | 5.1 | 5.9 | 4.7 | 3.9 | 4.0 | 4.4 | 4.5 | 4.3 | 3.8 |
February is the driest month (2.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 93 °F). 5.9 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 93 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Van Buren →
Next door
Van Buren and its neighbors
Van Buren has the second 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Van Buren | 7% | 0.3 | 16 | 71% | B |
| Fort Smith | 6% | 0.3 | 9 | 50% | B− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Van Buren
Where can I hike in Van Buren?
The longest trail networks: Van Buren Municipal Park, 0.8 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Van Buren is conserved land?
7% 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 Van Buren’s trails?
Van Buren Municipal Park and Lee Creek Public Use Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Van Buren?
16,789 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Van Buren or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 724 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Van Buren have?
Ahead of 63% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #9 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 Van Buren 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 →