Henderson Beach State Park
Managed by Florida State Parks
217 acres1.2 mi of trail
Henderson Beach Nature Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: Destin Vacation Boat Rentals · CC BY 2.0B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Destin
6% of Destin’s land is conserved: 284 acres
The biggest trail networks: Henderson Beach State Park (1.2 mi). 291 acres are parks and preserves, 21 per 1,000 residents. 3.3 miles of mapped trail cross Destin, 0.4 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 69% of U.S. towns · #170 of 638 in Florida. What drives it
Conserved land
6%
284 acres · of 7.5 sq mi of land
Trails
3.3 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
291 ac
21 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
75%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
14 mi
11 mi lanes · 2.4 mi paths
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Destin have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Destin is ahead of 69% of U.S. towns, #170 of 638 in Florida. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; conserved land ranks highest, the share of residents near a park lowest.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Destin’s overall grade.
Conserved land6% of the land · typical FL town 3% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (3 mi) · FL 0.4 · U.S. 0.4BPark land21 acres of park per 1,000 residents (291 acres) · FL 6 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home75% 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 69%
LessMore
Florida towns of 2,500+ (638)Ahead of 73%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would still be 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 Henderson Beach State Park, with 1.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
James Lee Park
Managed by Okaloosa County
7 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Dalton G. Threadgill Park
Park
5 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Kell Aire Nature Walk
Park
3 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 10 parks & preserves
Henderson Beach State Park217 acres · 1.2 mi of trail · Florida State Parks
DirectionsJames Lee Park7 acres · 0.3 mi of trail · Okaloosa County
DirectionsKell Aire Nature Walk3 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
Mattie Kelly Park3 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
Dalton G. Threadgill Park5 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Joe's Bayou Recreation Area3 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Main Street Park1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Clement Taylor Park3 acres
Kell Aire Park2 acres
Dewey Destin Park2 acres
Who protects it
284 conserved acres
6% of Destin’s land. Who manages Destin’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State parks221 ac
Town or city62 ac
State Park · 221 acLocal Park · 57 acLocal Other or Unknown · 6 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Henderson Beach State Park State Park | State parks | 221 | Open |
| Morgan Sports Center & Destin Dog Park Local Park | Town or city | 26 | Open |
| Mattie Kelly Park And Nature Walk Local Park | Town or city | 12 | Open |
| Norriego Point Park Local Park | Town or city | 9 | Open |
| Green Space Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| Clement Taylor Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Destin Little League Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Buck Destin Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Kell-Aire Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
| Destin Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
24 places to go in Destin
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Destin
10 beaches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Public pools in Destin
Destiny East Main Community Pool
DirectionsWave Pool
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Destin
Henderson Beach PlaygroundIn Henderson Beach State Park
DirectionsSplash Pad
DirectionsPlus 9 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Dog parks in Destin
Destin Dog Park
DirectionsTrails & water
1 named trail
Named trails
Unpaved · 0.8 mi
Henderson Beach Nature Trail0.6 mi
Biking & sports
14 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
11 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
2.4 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
46Tennis
43Pickleball
9Baseball
3Basketball
3Soccer
1Beach volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Destin: April and May
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) | 10.4 | 11.1 | 11.9 | 12.9 | 13.7 | 14.1 | 13.9 | 13.2 | 12.3 | 11.4 | 10.6 | 10.2 |
| High (°F) | 61 | 65 | 70 | 76 | 83 | 87 | 90 | 90 | 87 | 80 | 71 | 64 |
| Rain (in) | 4.8 | 4.7 | 4.8 | 5.0 | 3.5 | 6.2 | 7.9 | 7.7 | 6.1 | 4.3 | 4.0 | 5.1 |
May is the driest month (3.5 in) and July the warmest (highs of 90 °F). 7.9 inches fall in July, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 90 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Destin →
Next door
Destin and its neighbors
Destin has the second 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Destin | 6% | 0.4 | 21 | 75% | B+ |
| Miramar Beach | 1% | 3.7 | 1 | 24% | C+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Destin
Where can I hike in Destin?
The longest trail networks: Henderson Beach State Park, 1.2 miles; James Lee Park, 0.3 miles; Dalton G. Threadgill Park, 0.1 miles; Kell Aire Nature Walk, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Destin is conserved land?
6% 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 Destin’s trails?
Henderson Beach State Park and James Lee Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Destin?
14 miles of bike routes are on the map: 11 of painted or protected lanes and 2.4 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Destin?
4,618 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Destin or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 291 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Destin have?
Ahead of 69% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #170 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 Destin 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 →