Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge
Managed by United States Fish and Wildlife Service
141 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: Farragutful · CC BY-SA 4.0C+Outdoors
Outdoors in Camanche
Camanche has 21 acres of parks, 4.5 for every 1,000 residents
85% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 1.7 miles of mapped trail cross Camanche, 0.2 per square mile of land. 3% of Camanche’s land is conserved, about 171 acres.
Ahead of 44% of U.S. towns · #110 of 140 in Iowa. What drives it
Conserved land
3%
171 acres · of 8.9 sq mi of land
Trails
1.7 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
21 ac
4.5 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
85%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
2.4 mi
2.4 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
3
4 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Camanche?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Camanche have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Camanche is ahead of 44% of U.S. towns, #110 of 140 in Iowa. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
C+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Camanche’s overall grade.
Conserved land3% of the land · typical IA town 3% · U.S. 4%B−Trails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (2 mi) · IA 0.3 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land4.5 acres of park per 1,000 residents (21 acres) · IA 19 · U.S. 13CParks close to home85% 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 44%
LessMore
Iowa towns of 2,500+ (140)Ahead of 22%
Water is 8% of Camanche’s area (1 of 10 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 3%.
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.
All 5 parks & preserves
Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge141 acres · United States Fish and Wildlife Service
DirectionsPlatt Park14 acres
DirectionsCity Park2 acres
DirectionsMain Street Park1 acres
DirectionsTriangle Park1 acres
Who protects it
171 conserved acres
3% of Camanche’s land. Water is left out: Camanche has 8.9 square miles of land and 0.8 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Camanche’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Army Corps of Engineers137 ac
Town or city15 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)14 ac
State natural resources6 ac
Recreation Management Area · 137 acLocal Park · 15 acConservation Easement · 14 acState Other or Unknown · 6 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 14 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ms Rv Pools 11-22 Recreation Area Recreation Management Area | Army Corps of Engineers | 137 | Open |
| Platt Park Local Park | Town or city | 12 | Open |
| Mississippi River State Other or Unknown | State natural resources | 6 | Open |
| City Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
Things to do
7 places to go in Camanche
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Camanche
3 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Camanche
Swan Slough Boat Access
DirectionsPlus 3 boat launches without a name on the map.
Trails & water
3 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
2.4 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
2.4 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
14Tennis
8Baseball
2Basketball
1Football
1Pickleball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Horace Anthony HouseBuilding · listed 1991
About itWhen to get out
April is the best month for walking in Camanche
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 | 34 | 47 | 61 | 72 | 81 | 84 | 82 | 76 | 63 | 48 | 35 |
| Rain (in) | 1.4 | 1.8 | 2.5 | 3.8 | 4.5 | 5.0 | 4.1 | 4.0 | 3.9 | 2.8 | 2.4 | 1.9 |
January is the driest month (1.4 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 5.0 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Camanche →
Next door
Camanche and its neighbors
Camanche has the second most mapped trails of the 3 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Camanche | 3% | 0.2 | 5 | 85% | C+ |
| Clinton | 9% | 0.3 | 19 | 75% | B+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Camanche
How much of Camanche is conserved land?
3% 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 Camanche’s trails?
Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge and Platt Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Camanche?
2.4 miles of bike routes are on the map: 2.4 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Camanche?
7,813 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Camanche or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 32 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Camanche have?
Ahead of 44% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #110 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 Camanche 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 →