Hill Park
Park
7 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: csmith/dbb1 · CC BY-SA 3.0B−Outdoors
Outdoors in Madison
Madison has 80 acres of parks, 16 for every 1,000 residents
83% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 1% of Madison’s land is conserved, about 80 acres. 1.2 miles of mapped trail cross Madison, 0.1 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 47% of U.S. towns · #101 of 264 in Georgia. What drives it
Conserved land
1%
80 acres · of 8.9 sq mi of land
Trails
1.2 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
80 ac
16 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
83%
of residents within ½ mile
What kind of outdoors town is Madison?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Madison have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Madison is ahead of 47% of U.S. towns, #101 of 264 in Georgia. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
B−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Madison’s overall grade.
Conserved land1% of the land · typical GA town 2% · U.S. 4%C+Trails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · GA 0.2 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land16 acres of park per 1,000 residents (80 acres) · GA 9 · U.S. 13BParks close to home83% 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 47%
LessMore
Georgia towns of 2,500+ (264)Ahead of 62%
Few Georgia towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Madison’s 1% is ahead of 41% of Georgia towns, while its trails per square mile lead 35% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ 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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Lambert Park
Park
3 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Walton Park
Managed by City of Madison
2 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Madison Town Park
Park
1 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
80 conserved acres
1% of Madison’s land. Who manages Madison’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County66 ac
Town or city7 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits5 ac
Private owners2 ac
Local Recreation Area · 55 acLocal Park · 19 acUnknown Easement · 5 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 6 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Heritage Park Local Recreation Area | County | 31 | Open |
| Municipal Park Local Recreation Area | County | 15 | Open |
| Dupree Track And Field Complex Local Recreation Area | County | 7 | Open |
| Hill Park Local Park | County | 5 | Open |
| Wellington Park Local Park | County | 5 | Open |
| Gilbert Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Morgan County Tennis Complex Local Recreation Area | County | 2 | Open |
| Walton Park Local Park | Private owners | 2 | Open |
| Town Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
| Round Bowl Spring Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
6 places to go in Madison
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Madison
3 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Madison
1 dog park without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Picnic areas in Madison
1 picnic area without a name on the map.
Community gardens in Madison
Fifth St Community Garden
DirectionsBiking & 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
13Tennis
7Baseball
6Pickleball
2Soccer
1Softball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →4 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
When to get out
The best walking months in Madison: 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) | 10.2 | 10.9 | 11.9 | 13.0 | 13.9 | 14.4 | 14.2 | 13.4 | 12.3 | 11.3 | 10.4 | 9.9 |
| High (°F) | 55 | 59 | 67 | 75 | 82 | 88 | 91 | 90 | 84 | 75 | 65 | 57 |
| Rain (in) | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.9 | 3.6 | 3.3 | 4.2 | 4.2 | 4.7 | 4.0 | 3.2 | 3.5 | 4.6 |
October is the driest month (3.2 in) and July the warmest (highs of 91 °F). 4.9 inches fall in March, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 91 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Madison →
Questions about parks and trails in Madison
Where can I hike in Madison?
The longest trail networks: Lambert Park, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Madison is conserved land?
1% 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 Madison’s trails?
Hill Park and Lambert Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Madison?
16,316 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Madison or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 80 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Madison have?
Ahead of 47% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #101 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 Madison 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 →