17% of Longmont’s land is conserved, and 96% of residents live within a half mile of a park
17% of Longmont’s land is conserved, about 3,167 acres. 30 miles of mapped trail cross Longmont, 1.0 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Golden Ponds (1.4 mi), Roger's Grove Park (1.1 mi), Dickens Farm Nature Area (0.9 mi).
Ahead of 91% of U.S. towns · #56 of 159 in Colorado. What drives it
Conserved land
17%
3,167 acres · of 29.3 sq mi of land
Trails
30 mi
1.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,700 ac
17 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
96%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
129 mi
71 mi lanes · 57 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
12
3 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Longmont?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Longmont is ahead of 91% of U.S. towns, #56 of 159 in Colorado. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; conserved land ranks highest, park acres per resident lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Longmont’s overall grade.
Among the 400 U.S. cities of 100,000 or more, Longmont ranks #70 on Outdoors.
Colorado towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 7%; the U.S., 4%), so Longmont’s 17% is ahead of 78% of Colorado towns, while its trails per square mile lead 37% of them.
Water is 6% of Longmont’s area (2 of 31 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 16%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from A− to A. 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.
17% of Longmont’s land. Water is left out: Longmont has 29.3 square miles of land and 2.0 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Longmont’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city2,828 ac
County1,217 ac
State fish & wildlife210 ac
State parks210 ac
Private owners34 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits2 ac
Local Other or Unknown · 1,369 acUnknown Easement · 993 acLocal Park · 707 acConservation Easement · 398 acOther Easement · 390 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 745 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 10 of 82 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
Parcel (PAD-US)
Managed by
Acres
Public access
Collins
Local Other or Unknown
Town or city
429
Unknown
City Land
Local Other or Unknown
Town or city
230
Closed
Sherwood Fee Acquisition / St. Vrain Open Lands & Trails 2002 Legacy
Local Other or Unknown
Town or city
199
Closed
City of Longmont City Land - General
Local Other or Unknown
Town or city
159
Closed
Hernor
Local Recreation Area
Town or city
142
Open
Golden Ponds
Local Park
Town or city
132
Open
Mcintosh Park
Local Park
Town or city
130
Open
Peschel
Local Other or Unknown
County
127
Closed
Sandstone Ranch
Local Other or Unknown
Town or city
126
Closed
French
Local Recreation Area
Town or city
85
Open
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
96 places to go in Longmont
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
The best walking months in Longmont: April and June
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)
9.6
10.6
11.8
13.2
14.4
15.0
14.8
13.7
12.4
11.1
9.9
9.3
High (°F)
45
47
57
63
73
84
90
87
79
66
54
45
Rain (in)
0.5
0.6
1.4
2.1
2.6
1.7
1.6
1.5
1.4
1.1
0.8
0.5
December is the driest month (0.5 in) and July the warmest (highs of 90 °F). 2.6 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 90 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Longmont →
Next door
Longmont and its neighbors
Longmont has the second most mapped trails of the 2 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Longmont
Where can I hike in Longmont?
The longest trail networks: Golden Ponds, 1.4 miles; Roger's Grove Park, 1.1 miles; Dickens Farm Nature Area, 0.9 miles; Sandstone Ranch Community Park, 0.6 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Longmont is conserved land?
17% of its land, against a typical 7% for a Colorado town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Longmont’s trails?
Golden Ponds and Roger's Grove Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Longmont?
129 miles of bike routes are on the map: 71 of painted or protected lanes, 57 of off-road paths and 0.9 of shoulders and shared lanes. Named routes: Saint Vrain Greenway.
Is there public land near Longmont?
38,094 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Longmont or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,700 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Longmont have?
Ahead of 91% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #56 of 159 in Colorado. 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 Longmont neighbors.
Photo: Billy Hathorn · CC BY-SA 3.0