Photo: Jared Winkler · CC BY-SA 4.0Creston has 159 acres of parks, 21 for every 1,000 residents
0.3 miles of mapped trail cross Creston, 0.1 per square mile of land. 5% of Creston’s land is conserved, about 150 acres. 60% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 47% of U.S. towns · #102 of 140 in Iowa. What drives it
What kind of outdoors town is Creston?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
How much outdoors does Creston have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Creston is ahead of 47% of U.S. towns, #102 of 140 in Iowa. 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
The longest trail network is McKinley Park, with 0.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Rainbow Park
150 conserved acres
5% of Creston’s land. Who manages Creston’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mckinley Park Local Park | Town or city | 126 | Open |
| Unknown Fields Local Park | Town or city | 18 | Open |
| Veterans Of Foreign Wars Ballfield Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Rainbow Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Unknown Field Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 1 | Open |
13 places to go in Creston
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
12 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
1 lakes & rivers
1.4 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.
4 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
The best walking months in Creston: 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 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.5 | 15.1 | 14.8 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.2 |
| High (°F) | 31 | 36 | 49 | 62 | 71 | 81 | 84 | 83 | 76 | 64 | 48 | 36 |
| Rain (in) | 0.8 | 1.2 | 2.0 | 3.7 | 5.2 | 5.2 | 4.2 | 4.4 | 3.6 | 2.8 | 1.9 | 1.3 |
January is the driest month (0.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 5.2 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Creston →
Questions about parks and trails in Creston
Where can I hike in Creston?
The longest trail networks: McKinley Park, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Creston is conserved land?
5% 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 Creston’s trails?
McKinley Park and Veterans of Foreign Wars Ballfield don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Creston?
1.4 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.4 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Creston?
6,784 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Creston or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 159 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Creston have?
Ahead of 47% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #102 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 Creston 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 →