Rainbow Springs State Park
Park
102 acres1.2 mi of trail
Yellow Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Rainbow Springs
Rainbow Springs has 831 acres of parks, 137 for every 1,000 residents
13% of Rainbow Springs’ land is conserved, about 955 acres. The biggest trail networks: Rainbow Springs State Park (1.2 mi). 9.1 miles of mapped trail cross Rainbow Springs, 0.8 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 80% of U.S. towns · #108 of 638 in Florida. What drives it
Conserved land
13%
955 acres · of 11.5 sq mi of land
Trails
9.1 mi
0.8 per sq mi of land
Park land
831 ac
137 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
34%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
1
1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Rainbow Springs?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Rainbow Springs have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Rainbow Springs is ahead of 80% of U.S. towns, #108 of 638 in Florida. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Rainbow Springs’ overall grade.
Conserved land13% of the land · typical FL town 3% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.8 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (9 mi) · FL 0.4 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land137 acres of park per 1,000 residents (831 acres) · FL 6 · U.S. 13AParks close to home34% 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 80%
LessMore
Florida towns of 2,500+ (638)Ahead of 83%
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 Rainbow Springs State Park, with 1.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
KP Hole Park
Managed by Marion County, Florida
4 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Who protects it
955 conserved acres
13% of Rainbow Springs’ land. Who manages Rainbow Springs’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State parks819 ac
State fish & wildlife136 ac
State Park · 819 acUnknown Easement · 136 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 136 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 2 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rainbow Springs State Park State Park | State parks | 819 | Open |
Things to do
6 places to go in Rainbow Springs
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Swimming spots in Rainbow Springs
1 swimming spot without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in Rainbow Springs
1 boat launch without a name on the map.
Scenic views in Rainbow Springs
3 scenic views without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Campgrounds in Rainbow Springs
Rainbow Springs Campground
DirectionsTrails & water
3 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 6.6 mi
Yellow Trail1.4 mi
Southwest 180th Circle1.0 mi
Blue Trail0.1 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
4Pickleball
2Tennis
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
April is the best month for walking in Rainbow Springs
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) | 69 | 72 | 77 | 83 | 89 | 91 | 91 | 91 | 89 | 84 | 76 | 71 |
| Rain (in) | 3.4 | 3.0 | 3.4 | 2.7 | 3.2 | 7.4 | 7.7 | 8.2 | 5.8 | 2.9 | 2.0 | 2.8 |
November is the driest month (2.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 91 °F). 8.2 inches fall in August, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 91 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Rainbow Springs →
Next door
Rainbow Springs and its neighbors
Rainbow Springs 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rainbow Springs | 13% | 0.8 | 137 | 34% | A− |
| Dunnellon | 8% | 0.2 | 190 | 72% | B+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Rainbow Springs
Where can I hike in Rainbow Springs?
The longest trail networks: Rainbow Springs State Park, 1.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Rainbow Springs is conserved land?
13% 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 Rainbow Springs’ trails?
Rainbow Springs State Park and KP Hole Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Rainbow Springs?
29,992 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Rainbow Springs or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 831 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Rainbow Springs have?
Ahead of 80% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #108 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 Rainbow Springs 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 →