Veterans Park
Park
26 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: w_lemay · CC BY-SA 2.0C+Outdoors
Outdoors in Algona
Algona has 56 acres of parks, 10 for every 1,000 residents
94% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 2% of Algona’s land is conserved, about 57 acres.
Ahead of 37% of U.S. towns · #126 of 140 in Iowa. What drives it
Conserved land
2%
57 acres · of 4.6 sq mi of land
Trails
0.0 mi
0.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
56 ac
10 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
94%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.5 mi
0.5 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Algona?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Algona have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Algona is ahead of 37% of U.S. towns, #126 of 140 in Iowa. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
C+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Algona’s overall grade.
Conserved land2% of the land · typical IA town 3% · U.S. 4%C+Trails0.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (0 mi) · IA 0.3 · U.S. 0.4DPark land10 acres of park per 1,000 residents (56 acres) · IA 19 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to home94% of residents within a half mile of a park · IA 91% · U.S. 72%A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 37%
LessMore
Iowa towns of 2,500+ (140)Ahead of 10%
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.
Blackford Park
Park
6 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 5 parks & preserves
Veterans Park26 acres
South Park10 acres
DirectionsBlackford Park6 acres
Central Park4 acres
DirectionsMaple Park1 acres
Who protects it
57 conserved acres
2% of Algona’s land. Who manages Algona’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city54 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)2 ac
Local Park · 54 acConservation Easement · 2 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 2 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Veterans Park Local Park | Town or city | 27 | Open |
| South Park Local Park | Town or city | 14 | Open |
| Blackford Park Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| Central Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Maple Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Tietz Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
6 places to go in Algona
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Algona
6 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
1 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.5 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.5 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
12Baseball
4Basketball
3Beach volleyball
2Tennis
2Football
1Skate park
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 walking year in Algona
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) | 9.3 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.6 | 15.3 | 15.1 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 25 | 30 | 43 | 58 | 70 | 80 | 83 | 80 | 75 | 61 | 44 | 30 |
| Rain (in) | 0.8 | 1.0 | 1.8 | 3.6 | 4.8 | 5.0 | 4.1 | 4.3 | 3.4 | 2.3 | 1.5 | 1.1 |
January is the driest month (0.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 5.0 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Algona →
Questions about parks and trails in Algona
How much of Algona is conserved land?
2% of its land, against a typical 3% for an Iowa town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Algona’s trails?
Veterans Park and South Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Algona?
0.5 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.5 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Algona?
1,758 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Algona or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 56 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Algona have?
Ahead of 37% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #126 of 140 in Iowa. 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 Algona 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 →