Photo: Mjrmtg · CC BY-SA 3.0Few parks or trails are on the map in Lakeland
14% of Lakeland’s land is conserved, about 276 acres. 78% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 0.3 miles of mapped trail cross Lakeland, 0.1 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 62% of U.S. towns · #44 of 264 in Georgia. What drives it
What kind of outdoors town is Lakeland?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
How much outdoors does Lakeland have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Lakeland is ahead of 62% of U.S. towns, #44 of 264 in Georgia. Conserved land holds the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
Few Georgia towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Lakeland’s 14% is ahead of 96% of Georgia towns, while its trails per square mile lead 29% 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.
276 conserved acres
14% of Lakeland’s land. Who manages Lakeland’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 101 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Banks Lake National Wildlife Refuge National Wildlife Refuge | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 259 | Restricted |
| Lakeland Lanier Rec Facility Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 24 | Open |
| Lake Irma Park Local Park | Town or city | 15 | Open |
| Roquemore Park Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Open |
1 lakes & rivers
0.0 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.
1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
April is the best month for walking in Lakeland
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 | 13.7 | 14.1 | 14.0 | 13.3 | 12.3 | 11.4 | 10.5 | 10.1 |
| High (°F) | 63 | 67 | 73 | 79 | 86 | 90 | 92 | 91 | 87 | 80 | 71 | 65 |
| Rain (in) | 4.3 | 3.8 | 4.5 | 3.4 | 3.0 | 5.9 | 5.7 | 5.5 | 4.2 | 3.2 | 2.5 | 3.5 |
November is the driest month (2.5 in) and July the warmest (highs of 92 °F). 5.9 inches fall in June, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 92 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Lakeland →
Questions about parks and trails in Lakeland
How much of Lakeland is conserved land?
14% 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.
Is there public land near Lakeland?
8,014 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Lakeland or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 45 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Lakeland have?
Ahead of 62% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #44 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 Lakeland 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 →