Memorial Park
Park
12 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Mostly Iowa Edits · CC BY-SA 4.0COutdoors
Outdoors in Dallas Center
Dallas Center has 19 acres of parks, 8.7 for every 1,000 residents
1.2 miles of mapped trail cross Dallas Center, 0.2 per square mile of land. 66% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 28% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
under 1%
0 acres · of 5.4 sq mi of land
Trails
1.2 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
19 ac
8.7 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
66%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
2.1 mi
2.1 mi paths
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Dallas Center have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Dallas Center is ahead of 28% of U.S. towns. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
C
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Dallas Center’s overall grade.
Conserved landunder 1% of the land · typical IA town 3% · U.S. 4%DTrails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · IA 0.3 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land8.7 acres of park per 1,000 residents (19 acres) · IA 19 · U.S. 13C+Parks close to home66% 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 28%
LessMore
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C+. 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.
Things to do
4 places to go in Dallas Center
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Dallas Center
4 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Biking & sports
2.1 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
2.1 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
8Baseball
2Basketball
1Volleyball
1Football
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 Dallas Center
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 | 61 | 72 | 81 | 85 | 83 | 76 | 63 | 48 | 35 |
| Rain (in) | 0.9 | 1.1 | 2.1 | 3.8 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 4.3 | 4.0 | 3.5 | 2.6 | 1.8 | 1.3 |
January is the driest month (0.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 85 °F). 5.0 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Dallas Center →
Questions about parks and trails in Dallas Center
How much of Dallas Center is conserved land?
under 1% 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 Dallas Center’s trails?
Memorial Park doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Dallas Center?
2.1 miles of bike routes are on the map: 2.1 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Dallas Center?
4,323 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Dallas Center or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 19 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Dallas Center have?
Ahead of 28% 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 Dallas Center 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 →