Harnes Marsh Preserve
Managed by East County Water Control District
605 acres6 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Buckingham School · Photo: Ebyabe · CC BY-SA 3.0A+Outdoors
Outdoors in Buckingham
Buckingham has 1,560 acres of parks, 362 for every 1,000 residents
18% of Buckingham’s land is conserved, about 2,127 acres. 19 miles of mapped trail cross Buckingham, 1.1 per square mile of land. 92% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 97% of U.S. towns · #11 of 638 in Florida. What drives it
Conserved land
18%
2,127 acres · of 18.0 sq mi of land
Trails
19 mi
1.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,560 ac
362 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
92%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
2
What kind of outdoors town is Buckingham?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Buckingham have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Buckingham is ahead of 97% of U.S. towns, #11 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 Buckingham’s overall grade.
Conserved land18% of the land · typical FL town 3% · U.S. 4%ATrails1.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (19 mi) · FL 0.4 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land362 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,560 acres) · FL 6 · U.S. 13AParks close to home92% of residents within a half mile of a park · FL 70% · U.S. 72%A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 97%
LessMore
Florida towns of 2,500+ (638)Ahead of 98%
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 Harnes Marsh Preserve, with 6 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Buckingham Trails Preserve
Managed by Lee County Parks and Recreation
575 acres4.4 mi of trail
Jeep Track 2Jeep Track 1
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Buckingham Community Park & Dog Park
Park
138 acres3.2 mi of trail
Waggin Tail TrailPuppy Powerline
Dogs allowed
Directionsto the parking lot
West Marsh Preserve
Managed by Lee County Parks and Recreation
209 acres2.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 6 parks & preserves
Harnes Marsh Preserve605 acres · 6 mi of trail · East County Water Control District
Buckingham Trails Preserve575 acres · 4.4 mi of trail · Lee County Parks and Recreation
Buckingham Community Park & Dog Park138 acres · 3.2 mi of trail
DirectionsWest Marsh Preserve209 acres · 2.1 mi of trail · Lee County Parks and Recreation
Hickory Swamp Preserve66 acres
Six Mile Cypress Preserve North1 acres · Lee County Parks and Recreation
Who protects it
2,127 conserved acres
18% of Buckingham’s land. Who manages Buckingham’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County1,457 ac
Regional Water Districts575 ac
Town or city95 ac
Local Conservation Area · 845 acLocal Park · 691 acWatershed Protection Area · 575 acLocal Recreation Area · 10 acLocal Other or Unknown · 6 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harn's Marsh Watershed Protection Area | Regional Water Districts | 575 | Closed |
| Buckingham Trails Preserve Local Conservation Area | County | 569 | Open |
| Unknown Park Local Park | Town or city | 501 | Open |
| West Marsh Preserve Local Conservation Area | County | 207 | Open |
| Buckingham Community Park & Dog Park Local Park | County | 135 | Open |
| Hickory Swamp Preserve Local Conservation Area | County | 68 | Open |
| Orange River Local Park | County | 52 | Open |
| Orange River Canoe Trail Local Recreation Area | County | 9 | Open |
| Orange River Parcel Local Other or Unknown | County | 6 | Open |
| Orange River Canoe And Kayak Launch Site Local Park | County | 3 | Open |
2 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
1 places to go in Buckingham
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Buckingham
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
4 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Horses · 1.3 miUnpaved · 6.2 mi
Jeep Track 21.2 mi
Waggin Tail Trail0.9 mi
Jeep Track 10.8 mi
Puppy Powerline0.3 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
4Baseball
3Soccer
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).
Buckingham SchoolBuilding · listed 1989
About itWhen to get out
April is the best month for walking in Buckingham
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) | 2.3 | 1.9 | 2.2 | 2.4 | 3.7 | 9.0 | 8.6 | 8.6 | 7.6 | 3.4 | 1.7 | 1.8 |
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 Buckingham →
Next door
Buckingham and its neighbors
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buckingham | 18% | 1.1 | 362 | 92% | A+ |
| Lehigh Acres | 2% | 0.5 | 8 | 26% | C+ |
| Verandah | under 1% | 4.5 | 1 | 40% | C |
| Fort Myers | 8% | 1.0 | 23 | 75% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Buckingham
Where can I hike in Buckingham?
The longest trail networks: Harnes Marsh Preserve, 6 miles; Buckingham Trails Preserve, 4.4 miles; Buckingham Community Park & Dog Park, 3.2 miles; West Marsh Preserve, 2.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Buckingham is conserved land?
18% 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 Buckingham’s trails?
OpenStreetMap records dogs as welcome at Buckingham Community Park & Dog Park. For the rest, check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Buckingham?
24,824 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Buckingham or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,560 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Buckingham have?
Ahead of 97% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #11 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 Buckingham 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 →