Carlisle Municipal Park
Park
20 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: PopePompus · CC BY-SA 4.0C+Outdoors
Outdoors in Carlisle
98% of residents live within a half mile of a park in Carlisle
0.2 miles of mapped trail cross Carlisle. 2% of Carlisle’s land is conserved, about 65 acres. 45 acres are parks and preserves, 11 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 44% of U.S. towns · #107 of 140 in Iowa. What drives it
Conserved land
2%
65 acres · of 6.0 sq mi of land
Trails
0.2 mi
0.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
45 ac
11 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
98%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
5.7 mi
0.1 mi lanes · 5.5 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
2
What kind of outdoors town is Carlisle?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Carlisle have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Carlisle is ahead of 44% of U.S. towns, #107 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 Carlisle’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. 0.4C−Park land11 acres of park per 1,000 residents (45 acres) · IA 19 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to home98% 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 44%
LessMore
Iowa towns of 2,500+ (140)Ahead of 24%
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
The longest trail network is Carlisle Municipal Park, with 0.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Volunteer Park
Park
3 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 5 parks & preserves
Carlisle Municipal Park20 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsLindhardt Park14 acres
DirectionsVolunteer Park3 acres
Carlisle Community School Park2 acres
DirectionsWater Tower Park1 acres
Who protects it
65 conserved acres
2% of Carlisle’s land. Who manages Carlisle’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city42 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)23 ac
Local Park · 42 acConservation Easement · 23 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 23 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carlisle City Park Local Park | Town or city | 24 | Open |
| South Park Local Park | Town or city | 14 | Open |
| Volunteer Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Water Tower Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
19 places to go in Carlisle
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Carlisle
10 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Picnic areas in Carlisle
9 picnic areas without a name on the map.
Trails & water
2 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
5.7 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.1 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
5.5 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
9Baseball
1Soccer
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
September is the best month for walking in Carlisle
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) | 31 | 36 | 49 | 62 | 73 | 82 | 86 | 84 | 77 | 64 | 49 | 36 |
| Rain (in) | 0.9 | 1.2 | 2.0 | 3.8 | 5.1 | 5.2 | 4.0 | 4.2 | 3.5 | 2.6 | 1.8 | 1.3 |
January is the driest month (0.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 86 °F). 5.2 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Carlisle →
Questions about parks and trails in Carlisle
Where can I hike in Carlisle?
The longest trail networks: Carlisle Municipal Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Carlisle 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 Carlisle’s trails?
Carlisle Municipal Park and Lindhardt Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Carlisle?
5.7 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.1 of painted or protected lanes and 5.5 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Carlisle?
24,149 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Carlisle or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 45 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Carlisle have?
Ahead of 44% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #107 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 Carlisle 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 →