Fort Yargo State Park
Managed by Georgia State Parks & Historic Sites
1,627 acres12.7 mi of trail
Inner LoopWinder Connecting Trailabandoned track
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: City of Winder · CC BY-SA 4.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Winder
20% of Winder’s land is conserved: 1,908 acres
1,896 acres are parks and preserves, 98 per 1,000 residents. 19 miles of mapped trail cross Winder, 1.3 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Fort Yargo State Park (12.7 mi), Jug Tavern Park (0.5 mi).
Ahead of 93% of U.S. towns · #3 of 264 in Georgia. What drives it
Conserved land
20%
1,908 acres · of 14.9 sq mi of land
Trails
19 mi
1.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,896 ac
98 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
72%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
13 mi
13 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
6
1 beach · 2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Winder?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Land that stays wild20% of the land is conserved; a typical Georgia town, 2%.Room to roam98 acres of park per 1,000 residents; the typical U.S. town has 13.A trail town1.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, more than 85% of U.S. towns.History along the way11 places on the National Register.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Winder have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Winder is ahead of 93% of U.S. towns, #3 of 264 in Georgia. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; conserved land ranks highest, the share of residents near a park lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Winder’s overall grade.
Conserved land20% of the land · typical GA town 2% · U.S. 4%ATrails1.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (19 mi) · GA 0.2 · U.S. 0.4APark land98 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,896 acres) · GA 9 · U.S. 13AParks close to home72% 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 93%
LessMore
Georgia towns of 2,500+ (264)#3 of 264
Few Georgia towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Winder’s 20% is ahead of 98% of Georgia towns, while its trails per square mile lead 95% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would still be 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 Fort Yargo State Park, with 12.7 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
1,908 conserved acres
20% of Winder’s land. Who manages Winder’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources3,612 ac
County79 ac
Town or city61 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits26 ac
Private owners12 ac
Unknown Easement · 1,819 acState Park · 1,806 acLocal Recreation Area · 85 acLocal Park · 55 acPrivate Other or Unknown · 13 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1 acre is a conservation easement, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 17 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fort Yargo State Park State Park | State natural resources | 1,806 | Open |
| Barrow County Recreation Fields Local Recreation Area | County | 64 | Open |
| City Pond Park Local Park | Town or city | 34 | Open |
| 2015008 Private Other or Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 13 | Closed |
| Winder Lions Club Baseball Fields Private Park | Private owners | 12 | Open |
| Winder-Barrow High School Baseball & Softball Complex Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 9 | Open |
| Winder-Barrow High School Stadium And Track Field Local Recreation Area | County | 8 | Open |
| Osborn Park Local Park | County | 7 | Open |
| Unknown Park Local Park | Town or city | 7 | Open |
| City of Winder Pavilion Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
4 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
13 places to go in Winder
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Winder
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Swimming spots in Winder
1 swimming spot without a name on the map.
Playgrounds in Winder
Birdberry PlaygroundIn Fort Yargo State Park
DirectionsGossling Playground
DirectionsPlus 4 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Winder
2 boat launches without a name on the map.
Scenic views in Winder
1 scenic view without a name on the map.
Peaks in Winder
Heart Attack HillIn Fort Yargo State Park
DirectionsDisc golf in Winder
1 disc golf course without a name on the map.
Trails & water
3 named trails and 6 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 3.1 miUnpaved · 3.4 mi
Inner Loop2.9 mi
Winder Connecting Trail1.0 mi
abandoned track0.2 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
13 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
13 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
27Tennis
14Baseball
10Soccer
8Pickleball
1Beach volleyball
1Basketball
1Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →11 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 3 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Winder DepotBuilding · listed 1979
About itBarrow County CourthouseBuilding · listed 1980
About itBroad Street Commercial Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1984
About itJackson Street Commercial Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1984
About itNorth Broad Street Residential Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1984
About itJackson-Johns HouseBuilding · listed 1985
About itRockwell Universalist ChurchBuilding · listed 1985
About itAthens-Candler-Church Street Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1986
About itDowntown Winder Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1994
About itOmer Christian Church and CemeteryBuilding · listed 2000
About itCarlyle-Blakey FarmSite · listed 2008
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Winder: 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) | 10.1 | 10.9 | 11.9 | 13.0 | 13.9 | 14.4 | 14.2 | 13.4 | 12.3 | 11.3 | 10.3 | 9.9 |
| High (°F) | 53 | 57 | 65 | 73 | 80 | 86 | 89 | 88 | 82 | 73 | 63 | 55 |
| Rain (in) | 4.8 | 4.7 | 5.0 | 3.9 | 3.9 | 4.6 | 4.2 | 4.9 | 4.2 | 3.6 | 4.2 | 4.7 |
October is the driest month (3.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 89 °F). 5.0 inches fall in March, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 89 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Winder →
Questions about parks and trails in Winder
Where can I hike in Winder?
The longest trail networks: Fort Yargo State Park, 12.7 miles; Jug Tavern Park, 0.5 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Winder is conserved land?
20% 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 Winder’s trails?
Fort Yargo State Park and Jug Tavern Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Winder?
13 miles of bike routes are on the map: 13 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Winder?
5,935 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Winder or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,896 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Winder have?
Ahead of 93% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #3 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 Winder 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 →