Paulk Park
Park
53 acres1.5 mi of trail
County Lake walkPaulk Park Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Michael Rivera · CC BY-SA 4.0BOutdoors
Outdoors in Fitzgerald
Fitzgerald has 163 acres of parks, 18 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Paulk Park (1.5 mi). 4.6 miles of mapped trail cross Fitzgerald, 0.5 per square mile of land. 74% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 62% of U.S. towns · #46 of 264 in Georgia. What drives it
Conserved land
3%
154 acres · of 9.1 sq mi of land
Trails
4.6 mi
0.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
163 ac
18 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
74%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
2.4 mi
2.4 mi lanes
Lakes & rivers
4
What kind of outdoors town is Fitzgerald?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Fitzgerald have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Fitzgerald is ahead of 62% of U.S. towns, #46 of 264 in Georgia. Trail miles hold the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Fitzgerald’s overall grade.
Conserved land3% of the land · typical GA town 2% · U.S. 4%B−Trails0.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (5 mi) · GA 0.2 · U.S. 0.4BPark land18 acres of park per 1,000 residents (163 acres) · GA 9 · U.S. 13BParks close to home74% of residents within a half mile of a park · GA 56% · U.S. 72%B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 62%
LessMore
Georgia towns of 2,500+ (264)Ahead of 83%
Few Georgia towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Fitzgerald’s 3% is ahead of 58% of Georgia towns, while its trails per square mile lead 75% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B to 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 Paulk Park, with 1.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Sports Park
Park
20 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
American Legion Park
Park
14 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Blue and Gray Park
Park
13 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 5 parks & preserves
Paulk Park53 acres · 1.5 mi of trail
DirectionsSports Park20 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
American Legion Park14 acres
Blue and Gray Park13 acres
Fitzgerald Ball Park11 acres
Who protects it
154 conserved acres
3% of Fitzgerald’s land. Who manages Fitzgerald’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city154 ac
Local Park · 154 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ellis T. Paulk Park Local Park | Town or city | 85 | Open |
| Compton Park Local Park | Town or city | 18 | Open |
| American Legion Park Local Park | Town or city | 14 | Open |
| Wheeler Park Local Park | Town or city | 12 | Open |
| Blue-Gray Park Local Park | Town or city | 12 | Open |
| Lions Park Local Park | Town or city | 8 | Open |
| Monitor Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Palm Street Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
Trails & water
3 named trails and 4 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 1.2 miUnpaved · 2.6 mi
County Lake walk1.2 mi
West Lake Track0.7 mi
Paulk Park Trail0.4 mi
Biking & sports
2.4 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
2.4 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
Courts & fields
12Baseball
6Tennis
2Basketball
1Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →7 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 1 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Ben Hill County CourthouseBuilding · listed 1980
About itBen Hill County JailBuilding · listed 1982
About itHoltzendorf ApartmentsBuilding · listed 1988
About itSouth Main-South Lee Streets Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1989
About itFitzgerald Commercial Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1992
About itDorminy-Massee HouseBuilding · listed 2000
About itMiles V. Wilsey HouseBuilding · listed 2001
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Fitzgerald: 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) | 10.3 | 11.0 | 11.9 | 12.9 | 13.8 | 14.2 | 14.0 | 13.3 | 12.3 | 11.3 | 10.5 | 10.1 |
| High (°F) | 60 | 64 | 71 | 78 | 85 | 90 | 92 | 91 | 87 | 79 | 70 | 62 |
| Rain (in) | 4.3 | 4.2 | 4.6 | 3.5 | 3.0 | 4.9 | 4.8 | 4.9 | 3.8 | 2.7 | 2.8 | 4.1 |
October is the driest month (2.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 92 °F). 4.9 inches fall in June, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 92 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Fitzgerald →
Questions about parks and trails in Fitzgerald
Where can I hike in Fitzgerald?
The longest trail networks: Paulk Park, 1.5 miles; Sports Park, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Fitzgerald is conserved land?
3% of its land, against a typical 2% for a Georgia town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Fitzgerald’s trails?
Paulk Park and Sports Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Fitzgerald?
2.4 miles of bike routes are on the map: 2.4 of painted or protected lanes.
Is there public land near Fitzgerald?
407 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Fitzgerald or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 163 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Fitzgerald have?
Ahead of 62% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #46 of 264 in Georgia. 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 Fitzgerald 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 →