Photo: Excel23, Michael Seeley from Melbourne, FL, United States · CC BY 2.0Melbourne has 50 miles of mapped trails, 1.1 for every square mile of land
The biggest trail networks: Wickham Park (17.7 mi), Howard E. Futch Memorial Park (0.6 mi), Wells Park (0.5 mi). 8% of Melbourne’s land is conserved, about 2,359 acres. 795 acres are parks and preserves, 9.2 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 68% of U.S. towns · #183 of 638 in Florida. What drives it
What kind of outdoors town is Melbourne?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
How much outdoors does Melbourne have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Melbourne is ahead of 68% of U.S. towns, #183 of 638 in Florida. Trail miles hold the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
Water is 12% of Melbourne’s area (6 of 50 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 7%.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Pick a walk
The longest trail network is Wickham Park, with 17.7 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Howard E. Futch Memorial Park
Lipscomb Community Center & Lipscomb Pool
All 26 parks & preserves
2,359 conserved acres
8% of Melbourne’s land. Water is left out: Melbourne has 44.2 square miles of land and 5.8 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Melbourne’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1,626 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 2 of 16 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wickham Park Local Park | County | 484 | Open |
| Unknown Park Local Park | Town or city | 39 | Open |
| Lipscomb Community Center Local Park | County | 38 | Open |
| three Forks Conservation Area State Resource Management Area | Private owners | 33 | Open |
| Indian River Lagoon Stormwater Project 4644 Unknown | Not recorded | 22 | Unknown |
| Jimmy Moore Park Local Park | Town or city | 21 | Open |
| Crane Creek Scrub Sanctuary Local Conservation Area | County | 19 | Open |
| Wells Park Local Park | Town or city | 18 | Open |
| Fee Avenue Park Local Park | Town or city | 15 | Open |
| Crane Community Center Local Park | Town or city | 11 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
55 places to go in Melbourne
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Plus 3 beaches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Plus 1 public pool without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Plus 28 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Plus 1 dog park without a name on the map.
4 boat launches without a name on the map.
2 waterfalls without a name on the map.
3 picnic areas without a name on the map.
1 disc golf course without a name on the map.
2 community gardens without a name on the map.
2 named trails and 5 lakes & rivers
18 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
3 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 6 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
The best walking months in Melbourne: 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) | 10.5 | 11.2 | 11.9 | 12.8 | 13.5 | 13.9 | 13.8 | 13.1 | 12.3 | 11.4 | 10.7 | 10.4 |
| High (°F) | 71 | 73 | 76 | 80 | 84 | 88 | 89 | 89 | 88 | 83 | 77 | 73 |
| Rain (in) | 2.8 | 2.3 | 2.9 | 2.8 | 3.6 | 7.5 | 6.5 | 6.7 | 7.5 | 4.7 | 2.4 | 2.4 |
February is the driest month (2.3 in) and July the warmest (highs of 89 °F). 7.5 inches fall in June, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 89 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Melbourne →
Melbourne and its neighbors
Melbourne has the second most mapped trails of the 6 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Melbourne | 8% | 1.1 | 9 | 58% | B+ |
| West Melbourne | 3% | 0.7 | 9 | 63% | B− |
| Palm Bay | 3% | 0.6 | 6 | 46% | C+ |
| Indian Harbour Beach | 4% | 1.9 | 7 | 98% | A− |
| Melbourne Village | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Merritt Island | 11% | 0.8 | 39 | 62% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Melbourne
Where can I hike in Melbourne?
The longest trail networks: Wickham Park, 17.7 miles; Howard E. Futch Memorial Park, 0.6 miles; Wells Park, 0.5 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Melbourne 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 Melbourne’s trails?
Wickham Park and Howard E. Futch Memorial Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Melbourne?
18 miles of bike routes are on the map: 10 of painted or protected lanes, 5.8 of off-road paths and 1.7 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Melbourne?
43,076 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Melbourne or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 824 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Melbourne have?
Ahead of 68% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #183 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 Melbourne neighbors.
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 →