South Park
Managed by Ave Maria Master Association
21 acres1.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Unknown authorUnknown author · CC BY 4.0BOutdoors
Outdoors in Ave Maria
Ave Maria has 15 miles of mapped trails, 1.4 for every square mile of land
The biggest trail networks: South Park (1.2 mi), North Park (1.1 mi). 8% of Ave Maria’s land is conserved, about 538 acres. 19% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 56% of U.S. towns · #267 of 638 in Florida. What drives it
Conserved land
8%
538 acres · of 10.5 sq mi of land
Trails
15 mi
1.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
63 ac
7.6 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
19%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
5.3 mi
0.7 mi lanes · 4.6 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Ave Maria?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Ave Maria have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Ave Maria is ahead of 56% of U.S. towns, #267 of 638 in Florida. Trail miles hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Ave Maria’s overall grade.
Conserved land8% of the land · typical FL town 3% · U.S. 4%B+Trails1.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (15 mi) · FL 0.4 · U.S. 0.4APark land7.6 acres of park per 1,000 residents (63 acres) · FL 6 · U.S. 13C+Parks close to home19% of residents within a half mile of a park · FL 70% · U.S. 72%C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 56%
LessMore
Florida towns of 2,500+ (638)Ahead of 58%
Water is 6% of Ave Maria’s area (1 of 11 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 8%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ 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 South Park, with 1.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
North Park
Managed by Ave Maria Master Association
42 acres1.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Who protects it
538 conserved acres
8% of Ave Maria’s land. Water is left out: Ave Maria has 10.5 square miles of land and 0.7 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Ave Maria’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Regional Water Districts538 ac
Unknown Easement · 538 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 538 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 1 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
Things to do
8 places to go in Ave Maria
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in Ave Maria
Fitness Pool
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Ave Maria
North Park PlaygroundIn North Park
DirectionsPlus 4 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Ave Maria
2 dog parks without a name on the map.
Trails & water
1 named trail and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Anthem Parkway0.7 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
5.3 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.7 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
4.6 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
12Pickleball
11Tennis
5Soccer
5Basketball
5Baseball
3Volleyball
2Beach volleyball
1Softball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The walking year in Ave Maria
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) | 10.7 | 11.2 | 11.9 | 12.8 | 13.4 | 13.8 | 13.6 | 13.1 | 12.3 | 11.5 | 10.8 | 10.5 |
| High (°F) | 76 | 79 | 82 | 86 | 90 | 92 | 93 | 93 | 91 | 87 | 82 | 78 |
| Rain (in) | 2.2 | 1.8 | 2.1 | 2.5 | 4.1 | 9.3 | 8.0 | 8.7 | 7.6 | 3.7 | 1.6 | 1.7 |
November is the driest month (1.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 93 °F). 9.3 inches fall in June, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 93 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Ave Maria →
Questions about parks and trails in Ave Maria
Where can I hike in Ave Maria?
The longest trail networks: South Park, 1.2 miles; North Park, 1.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Ave Maria is conserved land?
8% 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 Ave Maria’s trails?
South Park and North Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Ave Maria?
5.3 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.7 of painted or protected lanes and 4.6 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Ave Maria?
16,459 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Ave Maria or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 63 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Ave Maria have?
Ahead of 56% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #267 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 Ave Maria 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 →