Pine Lake State Park
Managed by Iowa DNR - Parks
134 acres0.4 mi of trail
Hogsback Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: Jon Roanhaus · CC BY-SA 3.0B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Eldora
Eldora has 197 acres of parks, 75 for every 1,000 residents
81% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 5% of Eldora’s land is conserved, about 143 acres. 0.7 miles of mapped trail cross Eldora, 0.2 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 70% of U.S. towns · #62 of 140 in Iowa. What drives it
Conserved land
5%
143 acres · of 4.3 sq mi of land
Trails
0.7 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
197 ac
75 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
81%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.1 mi
1.1 mi paths
What kind of outdoors town is Eldora?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Eldora have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Eldora is ahead of 70% of U.S. towns, #62 of 140 in Iowa. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Eldora’s overall grade.
Conserved land5% of the land · typical IA town 3% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · IA 0.3 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land75 acres of park per 1,000 residents (197 acres) · IA 19 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home81% 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 70%
LessMore
Iowa towns of 2,500+ (140)Ahead of 56%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A−. 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 Pine Lake State Park, with 0.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
All 5 parks & preserves
Pine Lake State Park134 acres · 0.4 mi of trail · Iowa DNR - Parks
DirectionsDeer Park21 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsTwister Park13 acres
DirectionsGunderson Nature Park12 acres
DirectionsEldora City Park2 acres
Who protects it
143 conserved acres
5% of Eldora’s land. Who manages Eldora’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources143 ac
State Park · 143 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pine Lake State Park State Park | State natural resources | 143 | Open |
Things to do
9 places to go in Eldora
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Eldora
4 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Picnic areas in Eldora
1 picnic area without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Community gardens in Eldora
Eldora Community Garden
DirectionsTrails & water
1 named trail
Named trails
Unpaved · 0.6 mi
Hogsback Trail0.3 mi
Biking & sports
1.1 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.1 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
10Tennis
4Baseball
3Basketball
1Football
1Softball
1Equestrian
1Volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →4 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 1 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
September is the best month for walking in Eldora
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) | 9.4 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.6 | 15.3 | 15.0 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.1 |
| High (°F) | 26 | 31 | 45 | 59 | 71 | 80 | 83 | 81 | 75 | 62 | 45 | 32 |
| Rain (in) | 0.9 | 1.1 | 2.0 | 3.8 | 4.9 | 5.7 | 4.3 | 4.3 | 3.4 | 2.7 | 1.8 | 1.4 |
January is the driest month (0.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 5.7 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Eldora →
Questions about parks and trails in Eldora
Where can I hike in Eldora?
The longest trail networks: Pine Lake State Park, 0.4 miles; Deer Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Eldora 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 Eldora’s trails?
Pine Lake State Park and Deer Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Eldora?
1.1 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.1 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Eldora?
3,774 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Eldora or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 197 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Eldora have?
Ahead of 70% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #62 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 Eldora 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 →