Chicopee Woods Nature Preserve
Nature preserve
1,425 acres9.4 mi of trail
Bridge LoopLake LoopUpland TrailDodd Loop+1
No dogs
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: ATLJonJon · CC BY 4.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Gainesville
27% of Gainesville’s land is conserved: 5,794 acres
3,798 acres are parks and preserves, 84 per 1,000 residents. 27 miles of mapped trail cross Gainesville, 0.8 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Chicopee Woods Nature Preserve (9.4 mi), Midland Greenway Park (0.8 mi), Longwood Park (0.6 mi).
Ahead of 87% of U.S. towns · #7 of 264 in Georgia. What drives it
Conserved land
27%
5,794 acres · of 33.8 sq mi of land
Trails
27 mi
0.8 per sq mi of land
Park land
3,798 ac
84 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
52%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
23 mi
23 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
4
What kind of outdoors town is Gainesville?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Gainesville have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Gainesville is ahead of 87% of U.S. towns, #7 of 264 in Georgia. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Gainesville’s overall grade.
Conserved land27% of the land · typical GA town 2% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.8 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (27 mi) · GA 0.2 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land84 acres of park per 1,000 residents (3,798 acres) · GA 9 · U.S. 13AParks close to home52% of residents within a half mile of a park · GA 56% · U.S. 72%C+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 87%
LessMore
Georgia towns of 2,500+ (264)Ahead of 98%
Few Georgia towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Gainesville’s 27% is ahead of 99% of Georgia towns, while its trails per square mile lead 86% of them.
Water is 5% of Gainesville’s area (2 of 36 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 25%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from A− 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 Chicopee Woods Nature Preserve, with 9.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Roper Park
Park
4 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 11 parks & preserves
Chicopee Woods Nature Preserve1,425 acres · 9.4 mi of trail
DirectionsMidland Greenway Park10 acres · 0.8 mi of trail
DirectionsLongwood Park18 acres · 0.6 mi of trail
DirectionsEngine 209 Park3 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
Yonah Park3 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsRock Creek Veterans Park1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsRoper Park4 acres
Roosevelt Square2 acres · City of Gainesville
DirectionsWilshire Trails Park1 acres
DirectionsPoultry Park1 acres
DirectionsThe Square1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
5,794 conserved acres
27% of Gainesville’s land. Water is left out: Gainesville has 33.8 square miles of land and 1.9 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Gainesville’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits1,983 ac
Army Corps of Engineers1,943 ac
State natural resources1,527 ac
County504 ac
Town or city362 ac
Private owners165 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government130 ac
Recreation Management Area · 1,802 acState Conservation Area · 1,527 acLocal Conservation Area · 1,419 acLocal Recreation Area · 642 acUnknown Easement · 529 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 106 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 2 of 35 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sidney Lanier Recreation Area Recreation Management Area | Army Corps of Engineers | 1,802 | Open |
| Allen Creek Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 1,527 | Open |
| Chicopee Woods Local Conservation Area | Land trusts & nonprofits | 1,303 | Open |
| Chicopee Woods Golf Course Local Recreation Area | County | 460 | Open |
| Atlanta Botanical Garden Tract Private Park | Private owners | 165 | Restricted |
| Chicopee Woods Golf Course Mitigation Private Conservation | Army Corps of Engineers | 116 | Closed |
| Lanier Point Park Local Park | Town or city | 103 | Open |
| Chicopee Woods Naure Preserve Local Conservation Area | Land trusts & nonprofits | 86 | Open |
| Thompson Bridge Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 71 | Open |
| Allen Creek Soccer Complex Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 70 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
15 places to go in Gainesville
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Gainesville
12 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Gainesville
Midland Dog ParkIn Midland Greenway Park
DirectionsScenic views in Gainesville
Walnut Creek OverlookIn Chicopee Woods Nature Preserve
DirectionsPicnic areas in Gainesville
1 picnic area without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
8 named trails and 4 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 6.7 mi
Bridge Loop2.8 mi
Lake Loop2.6 mi
Upland Trail0.7 mi
Dodd Loop0.6 mi
Geiger Trail0.4 mi
Elachee Creek Loop0.3 mi
Ridge Trail0.3 mi
Connector0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
23 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
23 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
60Tennis
15Baseball
15Soccer
4Basketball
4Football
2Equestrian
1Skate park
1Volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →15 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 15 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Federal Building and CourthouseBuilding · listed 1974
About itGreen Street DistrictDistrict · listed 1975
About itBrenau College DistrictDistrict · listed 1978
About itCandler Street SchoolBuilding · listed 1982
About itDixie Hunt HotelBuilding · listed 1985
About itChicopee Mill and Village Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1985
About itJackson BuildingBuilding · listed 1985
About itGreen Street-Brenau Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1985
About itHall County JailBuilding · listed 1985
About itLogan BuildingBuilding · listed 1990
About itBeulah Rucker House-SchoolBuilding · listed 1995
About itHall County CourthouseBuilding · listed 1995
About it3 more on the History page.
When to get out
The best walking months in Gainesville: April to June
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) | 10.1 | 10.9 | 11.9 | 13.0 | 13.9 | 14.4 | 14.2 | 13.4 | 12.3 | 11.3 | 10.3 | 9.9 |
| High (°F) | 51 | 55 | 63 | 72 | 78 | 85 | 88 | 86 | 81 | 72 | 62 | 54 |
| Rain (in) | 5.2 | 4.9 | 5.1 | 4.3 | 4.4 | 4.7 | 4.4 | 5.2 | 4.1 | 4.1 | 4.3 | 5.0 |
October is the driest month (4.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 88 °F). 5.2 inches fall in August, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 88 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Gainesville →
Questions about parks and trails in Gainesville
Where can I hike in Gainesville?
The longest trail networks: Chicopee Woods Nature Preserve, 9.4 miles; Midland Greenway Park, 0.8 miles; Longwood Park, 0.6 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Gainesville is conserved land?
27% 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 Gainesville’s trails?
Chicopee Woods Nature Preserve and Midland Greenway Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Gainesville?
23 miles of bike routes are on the map: 23 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Gainesville?
19,889 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Gainesville or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 4,379 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Gainesville have?
Ahead of 87% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #7 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 Gainesville 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 →