Rodeo Park
Park
178 acres1.7 mi of trail
Rodeo Park Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Billwhittaker · Public domainAOutdoors
Outdoors in Fort Madison
42% of Fort Madison’s land is conserved: 2,578 acres
551 acres are parks and preserves, 54 per 1,000 residents. The biggest trail networks: Rodeo Park (1.7 mi), Riverview Park (0.9 mi). 80% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 90% of U.S. towns · #9 of 140 in Iowa. What drives it
Conserved land
42%
2,578 acres · of 9.7 sq mi of land
Trails
4.8 mi
0.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
551 ac
54 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
80%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.4 mi
1.4 mi paths
What kind of outdoors town is Fort Madison?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Fort Madison have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Fort Madison is ahead of 90% of U.S. towns, #9 of 140 in Iowa. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; conserved land ranks highest, trail miles lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Fort Madison’s overall grade.
Conserved land42% of the land · typical IA town 3% · U.S. 4%A+Trails0.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (5 mi) · IA 0.3 · U.S. 0.4BPark land54 acres of park per 1,000 residents (551 acres) · IA 19 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home80% 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 90%
LessMore
Iowa towns of 2,500+ (140)Ahead of 94%
Water is 27% of Fort Madison’s area (4 of 13 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 30%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from A− 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 Rodeo Park, with 1.7 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
North Winds Conservation Area
Nature preserve
230 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Trumpeter Marsh
Nature preserve
35 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 10 parks & preserves
Rodeo Park178 acres · 1.7 mi of trail
Riverview Park28 acres · 0.9 mi of trail
DirectionsCentral Park4 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
Old Settlers Park3 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
North Winds Conservation Area230 acres
Trumpeter Marsh35 acres
Ortho Landing and Wildlife Area29 acres
Ivanhoe Park10 acres
Victory Park7 acres
Shopton Park4 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
2,578 conserved acres
42% of Fort Madison’s land. Water is left out: Fort Madison has 9.7 square miles of land and 3.6 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Fort Madison’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources2,037 ac
County295 ac
Town or city247 ac
State Other or Unknown · 2,037 acLocal Conservation Area · 295 acLocal Recreation Area · 186 acLocal Park · 61 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mississippi River State Other or Unknown | State natural resources | 2,037 | Open |
| North Winds Conservation Area Local Conservation Area | County | 230 | Open |
| Rodeo Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 186 | Open |
| Trumpeter Marsh Local Conservation Area | County | 35 | Open |
| Riverview Park Local Park | Town or city | 31 | Open |
| Ortho Landing and Wildlife Area Local Conservation Area | County | 29 | Open |
| Ivanhoe Park Local Park | Town or city | 11 | Open |
| Victory Park Local Park | Town or city | 7 | Open |
| Shopton Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Central Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
1 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
6 places to go in Fort Madison
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Boat launches in Fort Madison
6 boat launches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
1 named trail
Named trails
Horses · 1.5 mi
Rodeo Park Trail1.5 mi
Biking & sports
1.4 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.4 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
15Tennis
12Baseball
4Soccer
3Basketball
1Skate park
1Football
1Beach volleyball
1Equestrian
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →15 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 3 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Lee County CourthouseBuilding · listed 1976
About itAlbright HouseBuilding · listed 1978
About itSt Mary of the Assumption ChurchBuilding · listed 1980
About itGeorge E. Schlapp HouseBuilding · listed 1982
About itCattermole Memorial LibraryBuilding · listed 1984
About itChief Justice Joseph M. Beck HouseBuilding · listed 1988
About itAtchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Passenger and Freight Complex Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1992
About itIowa State Penitentiary Cellhouses Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1992
About itCraig and Virginia Sheaffer HouseBuilding · listed 1993
About itMoyce-Steffens HouseBuilding · listed 1997
About itFort Madison BridgeStructure · listed 1999
About itDaniel McConn BarnBuilding · listed 2000
About it3 more on the History page.
When to get out
The best walking months in Fort Madison: April and August
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) | 9.6 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 13.2 | 14.4 | 15.1 | 14.8 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.9 | 9.3 |
| High (°F) | 33 | 39 | 51 | 64 | 74 | 83 | 86 | 85 | 78 | 65 | 51 | 39 |
| Rain (in) | 1.6 | 1.8 | 2.5 | 3.9 | 5.1 | 5.0 | 4.1 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.1 | 2.4 | 1.9 |
January is the driest month (1.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 86 °F). 5.1 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 86 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Fort Madison →
Next door
Fort Madison and its neighbors
Fort Madison has the most mapped trails of the 3 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fort Madison | 42% | 0.5 | 54 | 80% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Fort Madison
Where can I hike in Fort Madison?
The longest trail networks: Rodeo Park, 1.7 miles; Riverview Park, 0.9 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Fort Madison is conserved land?
42% 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 Madison’s trails?
Rodeo Park and Riverview Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Fort Madison?
1.4 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.4 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Fort Madison?
15,921 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Fort Madison or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 2,594 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Fort Madison have?
Ahead of 90% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #9 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 Madison 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 →