Photo: Linda Roy Walls · CC BY-SA 4.08% of Laurel’s land is conserved: 132 acres
84% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 14 acres are parks and preserves, 3.3 per 1,000 residents. 0.3 miles of mapped trail cross Laurel, 0.1 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 46% of U.S. towns · #32 of 37 in Delaware. What drives it
What kind of outdoors town is Laurel?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
How much outdoors does Laurel have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Laurel is ahead of 46% of U.S. towns, #32 of 37 in Delaware. Conserved land holds the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
Delaware towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 13%; the U.S., 4%), so Laurel’s 8% is ahead of 17% of Delaware towns, while its trails per square mile lead 14% of them.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Pick a walk
The longest trail network is Tidewater Park, with 0.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
132 conserved acres
8% of Laurel’s land. Who manages Laurel’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 6 of 9 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Laurel High School Research or Educational Area | Not recorded | 77 | Unknown |
| Laurel Middle School Research or Educational Area | Not recorded | 25 | Unknown |
| North Laurel Elementary School Research or Educational Area | Not recorded | 15 | Unknown |
| Laurel River Park Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| Broad Creek Greenway Local Park | Not recorded | 3 | Unknown |
| Broad Creek State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 2 | Unknown |
| Laurel Playlot Local Park | Other state land | 1 | Open |
| Market Square Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
| Janosik Park Private Conservation | Town or city | 1 | Unknown |
6 places to go in Laurel
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
5 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
1 lakes & rivers
0.1 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
7 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 2 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
The best walking months in Laurel: April to 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) | 9.7 | 10.7 | 11.8 | 13.2 | 14.3 | 14.8 | 14.6 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.0 | 9.5 |
| High (°F) | 46 | 49 | 56 | 67 | 76 | 84 | 89 | 86 | 80 | 70 | 59 | 50 |
| Rain (in) | 3.5 | 3.0 | 4.1 | 3.5 | 3.7 | 4.0 | 4.3 | 5.0 | 4.2 | 3.9 | 3.2 | 3.7 |
February is the driest month (3.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 89 °F). 5.0 inches fall in August, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 89 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Laurel →
Questions about parks and trails in Laurel
Where can I hike in Laurel?
The longest trail networks: Tidewater Park, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Laurel is conserved land?
8% of its land, against a typical 13% for a Delaware town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Laurel’s trails?
Tidewater Park doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Laurel?
0.1 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.1 of painted or protected lanes.
Is there public land near Laurel?
4,151 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Laurel or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 14 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Laurel have?
Ahead of 46% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #32 of 37 in Delaware. 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 Laurel neighbors.
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 →