Photo: Farragutful · CC BY-SA 4.0Buffalo has 60 acres of parks, 54 for every 1,000 residents
91% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 4% of Buffalo’s land is conserved, about 184 acres.
Ahead of 56% of U.S. towns. What drives it
What kind of outdoors town is Buffalo?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
How much outdoors does Buffalo have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Buffalo is ahead of 56% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
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.
Pick a walk
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Dodge Access
All 5 parks & preserves
184 conserved acres
4% of Buffalo’s land. Who manages Buffalo’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ms Rv Pools 11-22 Recreation Area Recreation Management Area | Army Corps of Engineers | 107 | Open |
| Mississippi River State Other or Unknown | State natural resources | 78 | Open |
| Buffalo Shores State Recreation Area State Recreation Area | County | 30 | Open |
| Dodge Access State Recreation Area | County | 15 | Open |
8 places to go in Buffalo
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
5 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
2 lakes & rivers
0.9 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).
The best walking months in Buffalo: April and September
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 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.5 | 15.2 | 14.9 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.2 |
| High (°F) | 30 | 35 | 48 | 62 | 72 | 82 | 84 | 83 | 76 | 64 | 48 | 35 |
| Rain (in) | 1.4 | 1.7 | 2.4 | 3.7 | 4.8 | 5.1 | 4.1 | 4.0 | 3.6 | 2.8 | 2.3 | 1.9 |
January is the driest month (1.4 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 5.1 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Buffalo →
Buffalo and its neighbors
Buffalo has the second most mapped trails of the 2 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buffalo | 4% | under 0.1 | 54 | 91% | B |
| Davenport | 7% | 0.7 | 17 | 87% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Buffalo
How much of Buffalo is conserved land?
4% 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 Buffalo’s trails?
Buffalo Outing Club and Buffalo Shores State Recreation Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Buffalo?
0.9 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.9 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Buffalo?
15,234 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Buffalo or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 208 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Buffalo have?
Ahead of 56% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade. 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 Buffalo 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 →