Big Shanty Village Historic District · Photo: Nilesrob · CC BY-SA 4.0Kennesaw has 171 acres of parks, 4.9 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Big Shanty Park (1.4 mi), Swift-Cantrell Park (0.5 mi). 4.4 miles of mapped trail cross Kennesaw, 0.5 per square mile of land. 2% of Kennesaw’s land is conserved, about 143 acres.
Ahead of 42% of U.S. towns · #121 of 264 in Georgia. What drives it
How much outdoors does Kennesaw have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Kennesaw is ahead of 42% of U.S. towns, #121 of 264 in Georgia. Trail miles hold the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
Few Georgia towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Kennesaw’s 2% is ahead of 54% of Georgia towns, while its trails per square mile lead 73% of them.
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 Big Shanty Park, with 1.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Swift-Cantrell Park
Adams Park
All 9 parks & preserves
143 conserved acres
2% of Kennesaw’s land. Who manages Kennesaw’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Swift-Cantrell Park Local Park | Town or city | 43 | Open |
| Adams Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 26 | Open |
| Big Shanty Park Local Recreation Area | County | 24 | Open |
| Smith-Gilbert Gardens Local Park | Town or city | 12 | Open |
| Kennesaw Cemetery Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 7 | Open |
| Greenspace Program Acquisition Local Recreation Area | County | 7 | Open |
| Kennesaw City Park Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| 2006003 Local Park | County | 4 | Open |
| Fairfax Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Deerfield Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
40 places to go in Kennesaw
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
1 more playground
35 playgrounds are on OpenStreetMap in all; the list shows named ones from the first 30.
2 dog parks without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
2 picnic areas without a name on the map.
5 named trails and 4 lakes & rivers
2.4 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.
7 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 4 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
The best walking months in Kennesaw: 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) | 52 | 56 | 65 | 73 | 80 | 86 | 89 | 88 | 83 | 73 | 63 | 54 |
| Rain (in) | 4.9 | 4.9 | 5.1 | 4.2 | 4.0 | 4.3 | 4.9 | 4.1 | 4.0 | 3.5 | 4.2 | 4.8 |
October is the driest month (3.5 in) and July the warmest (highs of 89 °F). 5.1 inches fall in March, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 89 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Kennesaw →
Kennesaw and its neighbors
Kennesaw 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kennesaw | 2% | 0.5 | 5 | 63% | C+ |
| Acworth | 30% | 0.3 | 11 | 81% | B+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Kennesaw
Where can I hike in Kennesaw?
The longest trail networks: Big Shanty Park, 1.4 miles; Swift-Cantrell Park, 0.5 miles; Depot Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Kennesaw is conserved land?
2% 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 Kennesaw’s trails?
Big Shanty Park and Swift-Cantrell Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Kennesaw?
2.4 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.2 of painted or protected lanes and 1.3 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Kennesaw?
30,070 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Kennesaw or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 171 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Kennesaw have?
Ahead of 42% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #121 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 Kennesaw 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 →