Nye Jordan Park
Park
4 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Ebyabe · CC BY-SA 2.5A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Bartow
20% of Bartow’s land is conserved: 5,955 acres
2,445 acres are parks and preserves, 120 per 1,000 residents. 82% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 12 miles of mapped trail cross Bartow, 0.3 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 85% of U.S. towns · #78 of 638 in Florida. What drives it
Conserved land
20%
5,955 acres · of 46.8 sq mi of land
Trails
12 mi
0.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
2,445 ac
120 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
82%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
26 mi
21 mi lanes · 5.2 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
2
2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Bartow?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Bartow have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Bartow is ahead of 85% of U.S. towns, #78 of 638 in Florida. Conserved land holds the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Bartow’s overall grade.
Conserved land20% of the land · typical FL town 3% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (12 mi) · FL 0.4 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land120 acres of park per 1,000 residents (2,445 acres) · FL 6 · U.S. 13AParks close to home82% 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 85%
LessMore
Florida towns of 2,500+ (638)Ahead of 88%
Water is 12% of Bartow’s area (6 of 53 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 18%.
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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
5,955 conserved acres
20% of Bartow’s land. Water is left out: Bartow has 46.8 square miles of land and 6.2 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Bartow’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Regional Water Districts3,532 ac
State land board3,474 ac
Town or city359 ac
County3 ac
Watershed Protection Area · 3,532 acState Conservation Area · 1,675 acState Historic or Cultural Area · 1,413 acState Recreation Area · 395 acLocal Park · 349 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Hancock Watershed Protection Area | Regional Water Districts | 3,532 | Closed |
| Peace River Settlement State Conservation Area | State land board | 1,675 | Open |
| Clear Springs State Historic or Cultural Area | State land board | 1,413 | Open |
| Polk Lake State Recreation Area | State land board | 385 | Open |
| Bartow Ball Park Local Park | Town or city | 187 | Open |
| Mary Holland Park Local Park | Town or city | 134 | Open |
| Mosaic Park Local Park | Town or city | 13 | Open |
| Bartow Trailhead at Fort Fraser State Recreation Area | Town or city | 10 | Open |
| Unknown Park Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Open |
| Polk St Community Center Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
3 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
2 places to go in Bartow
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Boat launches in Bartow
Lake Hancock Boat Ramp
DirectionsLake Hancock Boat Ramp
DirectionsTrails & water
2 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
26 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
21 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
5.2 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
13Baseball
13Tennis
3Basketball
2Football
2Soccer
1Softball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →11 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
South Florida Military CollegeBuilding · listed 1972
About itBenjamin Franklin Holland HouseBuilding · listed 1975
About itJohn J. Swearingen HouseBuilding · listed 1982
About itPolk County Courthouse, OldBuilding · listed 1989
About itBartow Downtown Commercial DistrictDistrict · listed 1993
About itNortheast Bartow Residential DistrictDistrict · listed 1993
About itSouth Bartow Residential DistrictDistrict · listed 1993
About itLawrence Brown HouseBuilding · listed 2001
About itThompson and Company Cigar FactoryBuilding · listed 2002
About itOak Hill CemeterySite · listed 2003
About itMann ManorBuilding · listed 2011
About itWhen to get out
April is the best month for walking in Bartow
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 | 13.5 | 13.9 | 13.7 | 13.1 | 12.3 | 11.4 | 10.7 | 10.4 |
| High (°F) | 73 | 75 | 79 | 84 | 89 | 91 | 92 | 92 | 90 | 85 | 79 | 74 |
| Rain (in) | 2.7 | 2.3 | 3.0 | 2.6 | 3.4 | 8.8 | 8.1 | 8.2 | 6.8 | 2.8 | 1.7 | 2.4 |
November is the driest month (1.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 92 °F). 8.8 inches fall in June, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 92 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Bartow →
Next door
Bartow and its neighbors
Bartow has the 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bartow | 20% | 0.3 | 120 | 82% | A− |
| Highland City | 10% | 0.5 | 3 | 56% | B− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Bartow
Where can I hike in Bartow?
The longest trail networks: Fort Blount Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Bartow is conserved land?
20% 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 Bartow’s trails?
Nye Jordan Park and Fort Blount Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Bartow?
26 miles of bike routes are on the map: 21 of painted or protected lanes and 5.2 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Bartow?
13,270 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Bartow or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 2,445 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Bartow have?
Ahead of 85% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #78 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 Bartow 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 →