Whispering Pines Park
Park
269 acres5.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Ebyabe · CC BY 2.5AOutdoors
Outdoors in Inverness
Inverness has 14 miles of mapped trails, 1.7 for every square mile of land
15% of Inverness’ land is conserved, about 786 acres. 391 acres are parks and preserves, 50 per 1,000 residents. The biggest trail networks: Whispering Pines Park (5.3 mi), Citrus Wildlife Management Area (2 mi).
Ahead of 93% of U.S. towns · #31 of 638 in Florida. What drives it
Conserved land
15%
786 acres · of 8.1 sq mi of land
Trails
14 mi
1.7 per sq mi of land
Park land
391 ac
50 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
79%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
4.8 mi
1.7 mi lanes · 3.2 mi paths
What kind of outdoors town is Inverness?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Inverness have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Inverness is ahead of 93% of U.S. towns, #31 of 638 in Florida. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; trail miles rank highest, the share of residents near a park lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Inverness’ overall grade.
Conserved land15% of the land · typical FL town 3% · U.S. 4%A−Trails1.7 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (14 mi) · FL 0.4 · U.S. 0.4APark land50 acres of park per 1,000 residents (391 acres) · FL 6 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home79% 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 95%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would still be 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 Whispering Pines Park, with 5.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Citrus Wildlife Management Area
Nature preserve
403 acres2 mi of trail
Trail 9B
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Withlacoochee State Forest
Nature preserve
403 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Cooter Pond Park
Park
36 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
All 6 parks & preserves
Whispering Pines Park269 acres · 5.3 mi of trail
Citrus Wildlife Management Area403 acres · 2 mi of trail
Cooter Pond Park36 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsWithlacoochee State Forest403 acres
Liberty and Wallace Brooks parks13 acres
DirectionsMossy Oak Park1 acres
Who protects it
786 conserved acres
15% of Inverness’ land. Who manages Inverness’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Other state land403 ac
Town or city343 ac
State parks42 ac
State Resource Management Area · 403 acLocal Park · 339 acState Recreation Area · 42 acLocal Recreation Area · 3 acLocal Conservation Area · 1 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Withlacoochee State Forest State Resource Management Area | Other state land | 403 | Open |
| Whispering Pines Park Local Park | Town or city | 296 | Open |
| Withlacoochee State Trail State Recreation Area | State parks | 42 | Open |
| Cooter Pond Park Local Park | Town or city | 32 | Open |
| Liberty Park Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Open |
| Wallace Brooks Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| North Apopka Ballfield Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Bryant Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Mossy Oak Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
| Hillcrest Park Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
2 places to go in Inverness
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Inverness
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
3 named trails
Named trails
Unpaved · 8.3 mi
Trail 9B0.6 mi
Polk Street West0.3 mi
Jackson Street West0.2 mi
Biking & sports
4.8 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.7 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
3.2 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
11Tennis
5Baseball
3Basketball
2Pickleball
1Beach volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →2 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
When to get out
April is the best month for walking in Inverness
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) | 10.5 | 11.1 | 11.9 | 12.8 | 13.6 | 14.0 | 13.8 | 13.2 | 12.3 | 11.4 | 10.7 | 10.3 |
| High (°F) | 70 | 73 | 77 | 83 | 89 | 91 | 91 | 91 | 89 | 84 | 77 | 72 |
| Rain (in) | 3.2 | 2.8 | 3.2 | 2.7 | 3.1 | 7.5 | 8.1 | 8.1 | 5.9 | 2.8 | 1.9 | 2.5 |
November is the driest month (1.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 91 °F). 8.1 inches fall in July, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 91 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Inverness →
Next door
Inverness and its neighbors
Inverness 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inverness | 15% | 1.7 | 50 | 79% | A |
| Inverness Highlands North | under 1% | 0.1 | 1 | 27% | D |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Inverness
Where can I hike in Inverness?
The longest trail networks: Whispering Pines Park, 5.3 miles; Citrus Wildlife Management Area, 2 miles; Cooter Pond Park, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Inverness is conserved land?
15% 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 Inverness’ trails?
Whispering Pines Park and Citrus Wildlife Management Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Inverness?
4.8 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.7 of painted or protected lanes and 3.2 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Inverness?
57,979 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Inverness or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 794 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Inverness have?
Ahead of 93% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #31 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 Inverness 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 →