Atlantic City Park
Park
2 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Jared Winkler · CC BY-SA 4.0BOutdoors
Outdoors in Atlantic
Atlantic has 134 acres of parks, 20 for every 1,000 residents
3.7 miles of mapped trail cross Atlantic, 0.4 per square mile of land. 2% of Atlantic’s land is conserved, about 121 acres. 64% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 57% of U.S. towns · #91 of 140 in Iowa. What drives it
Conserved land
2%
121 acres · of 8.3 sq mi of land
Trails
3.7 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
134 ac
20 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
64%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
2.3 mi
2.3 mi paths
What kind of outdoors town is Atlantic?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Atlantic have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Atlantic is ahead of 57% of U.S. towns, #91 of 140 in Iowa. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Atlantic’s overall grade.
Conserved land2% of the land · typical IA town 3% · U.S. 4%C+Trails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (4 mi) · IA 0.3 · U.S. 0.4BPark land20 acres of park per 1,000 residents (134 acres) · IA 19 · U.S. 13BParks close to home64% of residents within a half mile of a park · IA 91% · U.S. 72%B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 57%
LessMore
Iowa towns of 2,500+ (140)Ahead of 35%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B− 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
The longest trail network is Atlantic City Park, with 0.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Sunnyside Park
Park
88 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Pellet Park
Park
1 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
121 conserved acres
2% of Atlantic’s land. Who manages Atlantic’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city121 ac
Local Park · 84 acLocal Recreation Area · 37 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sunnyside Park Local Park | Town or city | 82 | Open |
| Recreation Complex Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 37 | Open |
| Atlantic City Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
Things to do
3 places to go in Atlantic
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Atlantic
3 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Biking & sports
2.3 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
2.3 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
10Baseball
10Tennis
3Basketball
2Tracks
1Softball
1Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →8 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 1 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
S. F. Martin HouseBuilding · listed 1984
About itChicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad DepotBuilding · listed 1994
About itJob A. and Rebecca E. McWaid HouseBuilding · listed 1994
About itCharles F. and and Ruth Chase HouseBuilding · listed 1999
About itAtlantic High SchoolBuilding · listed 2002
About itCass County Court HouseBuilding · listed 2003
About itAmerican Legion Memorial BuildingBuilding · listed 2006
About itHotel WhitneyBuilding · listed 2016
About itWhen to get out
September is the best month for walking in Atlantic
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) | 9.5 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.5 | 15.1 | 14.9 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.2 |
| High (°F) | 31 | 36 | 49 | 62 | 72 | 82 | 85 | 83 | 77 | 64 | 48 | 35 |
| Rain (in) | 0.8 | 1.1 | 1.9 | 3.6 | 5.3 | 5.3 | 4.0 | 4.6 | 3.5 | 2.7 | 1.7 | 1.3 |
January is the driest month (0.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 85 °F). 5.3 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Atlantic →
Questions about parks and trails in Atlantic
Where can I hike in Atlantic?
The longest trail networks: Atlantic City Park, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Atlantic 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 Atlantic’s trails?
Atlantic City Park and Sunnyside Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Atlantic?
2.3 miles of bike routes are on the map: 2.3 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Atlantic?
673 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Atlantic or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 134 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Atlantic have?
Ahead of 57% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #91 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 Atlantic 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 →