Panama City Beach Conservation Park
Park
2,915 acres18.8 mi of trail
LongleafCypress PondTree FrogMarshy Point+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: j.s. clark/ "Image by jsclark.net." · CC BY-SA 2.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Panama City Beach
31% of Panama City Beach’s land is conserved: 3,859 acres
33 miles of mapped trail cross Panama City Beach, 1.7 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Panama City Beach Conservation Park (18.8 mi). 160 acres are parks and preserves, 8.5 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 78% of U.S. towns · #113 of 638 in Florida. What drives it
Conserved land
31%
3,859 acres · of 19.3 sq mi of land
Trails
33 mi
1.7 per sq mi of land
Park land
160 ac
8.5 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
53%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
31 mi
22 mi lanes · 6.0 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
2
8 beaches
What kind of outdoors town is Panama City Beach?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Panama City Beach have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Panama City Beach is ahead of 78% of U.S. towns, #113 of 638 in Florida. Conserved land holds the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Panama City Beach’s overall grade.
Conserved land31% of the land · typical FL town 3% · U.S. 4%ATrails1.7 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (33 mi) · FL 0.4 · U.S. 0.4APark land8.5 acres of park per 1,000 residents (160 acres) · FL 6 · U.S. 13C+Parks close to home53% of residents within a half mile of a park · FL 70% · U.S. 72%C+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 78%
LessMore
Florida towns of 2,500+ (638)Ahead of 82%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B 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 Panama City Beach Conservation Park, with 18.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
All 5 parks & preserves
Panama City Beach Conservation Park2,915 acres · 18.8 mi of trail
DirectionsAaron Bessant Park28 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsFrank Brown Park106 acres
DirectionsScott Field Park2 acres
DirectionsMaggi Still Memorial Park1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
3,859 conserved acres
31% of Panama City Beach’s land. Who manages Panama City Beach’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city3,032 ac
Regional Water Districts712 ac
County113 ac
Local Conservation Area · 2,890 acWatershed Protection Area · 712 acLocal Park · 142 acConservation Easement · 113 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 114 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 9 of 14 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Panama City Beach Conservation Park Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 2,890 | Restricted |
| Ward Creek West Watershed Protection Area | Regional Water Districts | 712 | Closed |
| Frank Brown Park Local Park | Town or city | 111 | Open |
| Veterans Memorial Park Local Park | Town or city | 29 | Open |
| Scott Field Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
Things to do
18 places to go in Panama City Beach
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Panama City Beach
8 beaches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Public pools in Panama City Beach
Hot Tub
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Panama City Beach
4 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Dog parks in Panama City Beach
1 dog park without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Picnic areas in Panama City Beach
2 picnic areas without a name on the map.
Campgrounds in Panama City Beach
Raccoon River Campground
DirectionsPlus 1 campground without a name on the map.
Trails & water
14 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 14.8 miHorses · 0.8 miUnpaved · 17.9 mi
Longleaf2.8 mi
Cypress Pond2.2 mi
Tree Frog1.7 mi
Marshy Point1.1 mi
Coyote1.1 mi
Buck Pond1.0 mi
Diamondback0.9 mi
Willow0.9 mi
Osprey0.8 mi
Dragonfly0.7 mi
4 more trails
Whitetail
0.7 miEagle Spur
0.5 miPalmetto
0.4 miJohn Muir
0.3 miLakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
31 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
22 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
6.0 mi
off-road bike paths
2.8 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
40Tennis
20Golf
13Baseball
10Basketball
2Football
2Pickleball
1Soccer
1Tracks
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Panama City Beach: 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) | 62 | 65 | 71 | 76 | 84 | 88 | 90 | 90 | 87 | 80 | 71 | 64 |
| Rain (in) | 4.5 | 4.7 | 4.8 | 4.1 | 3.3 | 5.8 | 7.2 | 7.6 | 5.9 | 3.6 | 3.6 | 4.6 |
May is the driest month (3.3 in) and July the warmest (highs of 90 °F). 7.6 inches fall in August, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 90 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Panama City Beach →
Next door
Panama City Beach and its neighbors
Panama City Beach has the most mapped trails of the 3 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Panama City Beach | 31% | 1.7 | 8 | 53% | A− |
| Lower Grand Lagoon | 35% | 1.1 | 112 | 48% | A |
| Laguna Beach | 8% | 1.3 | 42 | 14% | B+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Panama City Beach
Where can I hike in Panama City Beach?
The longest trail networks: Panama City Beach Conservation Park, 18.8 miles; Aaron Bessant Park, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Panama City Beach is conserved land?
31% 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 Panama City Beach’s trails?
Panama City Beach Conservation Park and Aaron Bessant Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Panama City Beach?
31 miles of bike routes are on the map: 22 of painted or protected lanes, 6.0 of off-road paths and 2.8 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Panama City Beach?
13,971 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Panama City Beach or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 160 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Panama City Beach have?
Ahead of 78% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #113 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 Panama City Beach 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 →