Lizard Creek Acquisition
Nature preserve
83 acres2.7 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Bill Whittaker · CC BY-SA 3.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Fort Dodge
Fort Dodge has 11 miles of mapped trails, 0.7 for every square mile of land
The biggest trail networks: Lizard Creek Acquisition (2.7 mi), Phinny Park (1 mi). 89% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 566 acres are parks and preserves, 23 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 78% of U.S. towns · #40 of 140 in Iowa. What drives it
Conserved land
5%
477 acres · of 16.0 sq mi of land
Trails
11 mi
0.7 per sq mi of land
Park land
566 ac
23 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
89%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
20 mi
0.4 mi lanes · 19 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
3 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Fort Dodge?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Fort Dodge have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Fort Dodge is ahead of 78% of U.S. towns, #40 of 140 in Iowa. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of residents near a park ranks highest, conserved land lowest.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Fort Dodge’s overall grade.
Conserved land5% of the land · typical IA town 3% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.7 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (11 mi) · IA 0.3 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land23 acres of park per 1,000 residents (566 acres) · IA 19 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home89% 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 78%
LessMore
Iowa towns of 2,500+ (140)Ahead of 72%
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 Lizard Creek Acquisition, with 2.7 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Phinny Park
Park
24 acres1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Oleson Park
Park
69 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Soldier Creek Nature Trail
Nature preserve
59 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 27 parks & preserves
Lizard Creek Acquisition83 acres · 2.7 mi of trail
Phinny Park24 acres · 1 mi of trail
Oleson Park69 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
Riverfront North Park14 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
Soldier Creek Nature Trail59 acres
DirectionsRiverfront South Park52 acres
DirectionsWoodlands Open Space48 acres
Loomis Park35 acres
Snell Crawford Park32 acres
Mors Park32 acres
Armstrong Park19 acres
Mason Memorial Park17 acres
Island Park15 acres
Volunteer Park13 acres
DirectionsHydro Electric Park12 acres
Skateboard Park7 acres
The Diggings5 acres
Exposition Park4 acres
Fort Dodge Park3 acres
Haskell Park3 acres
DirectionsCity Square Park2 acres
DirectionsRD Mitchell Park2 acres
Knollcrest Park2 acres
DirectionsNorth 2nd Street Park2 acres
Leif Ericson Park2 acres
Linwood Hanson Park1 acres
Kennedy Brown Park1 acres
Who protects it
477 conserved acres
5% of Fort Dodge’s land. Who manages Fort Dodge’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city472 ac
County7 ac
Private owners1 ac
Local Park · 438 acLocal Conservation Area · 42 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lizard Creek Acquisition Local Park | Town or city | 75 | Open |
| Oleson Park Local Park | Town or city | 70 | Open |
| Riverfront South Park Local Park | Town or city | 46 | Open |
| Woodlands Open Space Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 42 | Open |
| Loomis Park Local Park | Town or city | 36 | Open |
| Fort Dodge Nature Trail Local Park | Town or city | 31 | Open |
| Armstrong Park Local Park | Town or city | 27 | Open |
| Mors Park Local Park | Town or city | 26 | Open |
| Snell Park Local Park | Town or city | 25 | Open |
| Phinny Park Local Park | Town or city | 24 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
11 places to go in Fort Dodge
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Fort Dodge
7 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Fort Dodge
3 boat launches without a name on the map.
Disc golf in Fort Dodge
Sunkissed Meadows Disc Golf CourseIn Riverfront South Park
DirectionsTrails & water
1 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
20 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.4 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
19 mi
off-road bike paths
0.9 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
14Tennis
10Basketball
9Baseball
5Football
2Beach volleyball
1Volleyball
1Skate park
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →13 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Vincent HouseBuilding · listed 1973
About itCorpus Christi ChurchBuilding · listed 1976
About itOak Hill Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1977
About itCoffin, Lorenzo S., Burial PlotSite · listed 1977
About itWebster County CourthouseBuilding · listed 1981
About itOakland CemeteryDistrict · listed 2000
About itFirst National Bank BuildingBuilding · listed 2003
About itOleson Park Music PavilionStructure · listed 2003
About itWahkonsa HotelBuilding · listed 2008
About itFort Dodge Downtown Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2010
About itFort Dodge Junior High SchoolBuilding · listed 2015
About itFort Dodge Senior High SchoolBuilding · listed 2015
About it1 more on the History page.
When to get out
September is the best month for walking in Fort Dodge
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) | 27 | 31 | 45 | 59 | 71 | 80 | 83 | 81 | 75 | 62 | 46 | 32 |
| Rain (in) | 0.9 | 1.1 | 1.9 | 3.7 | 4.8 | 5.1 | 4.0 | 4.3 | 2.9 | 2.3 | 1.6 | 1.3 |
January is the driest month (0.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 5.1 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Fort Dodge →
Questions about parks and trails in Fort Dodge
Where can I hike in Fort Dodge?
The longest trail networks: Lizard Creek Acquisition, 2.7 miles; Phinny Park, 1 miles; Oleson Park, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Fort Dodge 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 Fort Dodge’s trails?
Lizard Creek Acquisition and Phinny Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Fort Dodge?
20 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.4 of painted or protected lanes, 19 of off-road paths and 0.9 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Fort Dodge?
5,335 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Fort Dodge or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 566 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Fort Dodge have?
Ahead of 78% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #40 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 Fort Dodge 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 →