Caloosahatchee Regional Park
Nature preserve
294 acres6.1 mi of trail
Oxbow Trail LoopPine Flatwoods Trail LoopRiver Hammock Trail LoopSaw Palmetto Trail Loop+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto Parking Lot #2
Photo: formulanone · CC BY-SA 2.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Alva
Alva has 1,266 acres of parks, 374 for every 1,000 residents
29 miles of mapped trail cross Alva, 1.7 per square mile of land. 13% of Alva’s land is conserved, about 1,483 acres. The biggest trail networks: Caloosahatchee Regional Park (6.1 mi), Hickey Creek Wildlife and Environmental Area (3.3 mi), Hickey's Creek Mitigation Park (1.3 mi).
Ahead of 93% of U.S. towns · #28 of 638 in Florida. What drives it
Conserved land
13%
1,483 acres · of 17.5 sq mi of land
Trails
29 mi
1.7 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,266 ac
374 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
67%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
1
3 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Alva?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Alva have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Alva is ahead of 93% of U.S. towns, #28 of 638 in Florida. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; park acres per resident rank highest, the share of residents near a park lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Alva’s overall grade.
Conserved land13% of the land · typical FL town 3% · U.S. 4%A−Trails1.7 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (29 mi) · FL 0.4 · U.S. 0.4APark land374 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,266 acres) · FL 6 · U.S. 13AParks close to home67% of residents within a half mile of a park · FL 70% · U.S. 72%B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 93%
LessMore
Florida towns of 2,500+ (638)Ahead of 96%
Water is 5% of Alva’s area (1 of 18 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 13%.
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.
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 Caloosahatchee Regional Park, with 6.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Hickey Creek Wildlife and Environmental Area
Nature preserve
222 acres3.3 mi of trail
North Marsh Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Hickey's Creek Mitigation Park
Nature preserve
83 acres1.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Telegraph Creek Preserve
Managed by Lee County Parks and Recreation
123 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
All 6 parks & preserves
Caloosahatchee Regional Park294 acres · 6.1 mi of trail
DirectionsHickey Creek Wildlife and Environmental Area222 acres · 3.3 mi of trail
DirectionsHickey's Creek Mitigation Park83 acres · 1.3 mi of trail
Telegraph Creek Preserve123 acres · Lee County Parks and Recreation
Alva Community Park9 acres
DirectionsAlva Boat Ramp2 acres
Who protects it
1,483 conserved acres
13% of Alva’s land. Water is left out: Alva has 17.5 square miles of land and 1.0 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Alva’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County1,256 ac
State fish & wildlife227 ac
Local Conservation Area · 885 acLocal Other or Unknown · 371 acState Conservation Area · 227 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alva Scrub Preserve Local Conservation Area | County | 481 | Open |
| Caloosahatchee Regional Park Local Other or Unknown | County | 289 | Open |
| Daniels Preserve at Spanish Creek Local Conservation Area | County | 245 | Open |
| Hickey Creek Mitigation Park Wildlife and Environmental Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 227 | Restricted |
| Telegraph Creek Preserve Local Conservation Area | County | 123 | Open |
| Hickey's Creek Mitigation Park Local Other or Unknown | County | 82 | Open |
| Persimmon Ridge Preserve Local Conservation Area | County | 36 | Open |
Things to do
34 places to go in Alva
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Alva
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in Alva
Alva Boat Ramp
DirectionsAlva Community Park Boat Ramp
DirectionsPlus 1 boat launch without a name on the map.
Scenic views in Alva
1 scenic view without a name on the map.
Campgrounds in Alva
Site 10In Caloosahatchee Regional Park
DirectionsSite 11In Caloosahatchee Regional Park
DirectionsSite 12In Caloosahatchee Regional Park
DirectionsSite 14In Caloosahatchee Regional Park
DirectionsSite 15In Caloosahatchee Regional Park
DirectionsSite 16In Caloosahatchee Regional Park
DirectionsSite 17In Caloosahatchee Regional Park
DirectionsSite 18In Caloosahatchee Regional Park
Directions21 more campgrounds
Site 19In Caloosahatchee Regional Park
DirectionsSite 20In Caloosahatchee Regional Park
DirectionsSite 21In Caloosahatchee Regional Park
DirectionsSite 23In Caloosahatchee Regional Park
DirectionsSite 24In Caloosahatchee Regional Park
DirectionsSite 25In Caloosahatchee Regional Park
DirectionsSite 5In Caloosahatchee Regional Park
DirectionsSite 6In Caloosahatchee Regional Park
DirectionsSite 7In Caloosahatchee Regional Park
DirectionsSite 8In Caloosahatchee Regional Park
DirectionsSite 9In Caloosahatchee Regional Park
DirectionsSite E1In Caloosahatchee Regional Park
DirectionsSite E2In Caloosahatchee Regional Park
DirectionsSite G1In Caloosahatchee Regional Park
DirectionsSite G13In Caloosahatchee Regional Park
DirectionsSite G2In Caloosahatchee Regional Park
DirectionsSite G22In Caloosahatchee Regional Park
DirectionsSite G3In Caloosahatchee Regional Park
DirectionsSite G4In Caloosahatchee Regional Park
DirectionsSite H1In Caloosahatchee Regional Park
DirectionsW.P. Franklin Lock and Dam Campground (North)
DirectionsTrails & water
6 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 2.5 mi
Oxbow Trail Loop0.9 mi
Pine Flatwoods Trail Loop0.9 mi
North Marsh Trail0.9 mi
River Hammock Trail Loop0.9 mi
Saw Palmetto Trail Loop0.7 mi
Shoreline Trail0.5 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
2Baseball
2Tennis
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Alva Consolidated SchoolsBuilding · listed 1999
About itWhen to get out
April is the best month for walking in Alva
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) | 10.6 | 11.2 | 11.9 | 12.8 | 13.4 | 13.8 | 13.7 | 13.1 | 12.3 | 11.5 | 10.8 | 10.5 |
| High (°F) | 75 | 78 | 81 | 85 | 89 | 91 | 92 | 92 | 90 | 87 | 81 | 77 |
| Rain (in) | 2.2 | 1.9 | 2.3 | 2.4 | 3.7 | 9.0 | 8.4 | 8.5 | 7.3 | 3.3 | 1.7 | 1.7 |
November is the driest month (1.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 92 °F). 9.0 inches fall in June, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 92 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Alva →
Next door
Alva and its neighbors
Alva 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alva | 13% | 1.7 | 374 | 67% | A |
| Olga | 4% | 0.3 | 17 | 81% | B |
| Lehigh Acres | 2% | 0.5 | 8 | 26% | C+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Alva
Where can I hike in Alva?
The longest trail networks: Caloosahatchee Regional Park, 6.1 miles; Hickey Creek Wildlife and Environmental Area, 3.3 miles; Hickey's Creek Mitigation Park, 1.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Alva is conserved land?
13% of its land, against a typical 3% for a Florida town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Alva’s trails?
Caloosahatchee Regional Park and Hickey Creek Wildlife and Environmental Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Alva?
24,807 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Alva or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,266 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Alva have?
Ahead of 93% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #28 of 638 in Florida. 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 Alva 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 →