Black Hawk Creek Greenbelt
Nature preserve
350 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Hudson
Hudson has 445 acres of parks, 165 for every 1,000 residents
89% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 0.1 miles of mapped trail cross Hudson. 7% of Hudson’s land is conserved, about 371 acres.
Ahead of 68% of U.S. towns · #68 of 140 in Iowa. What drives it
Conserved land
7%
371 acres · of 8.5 sq mi of land
Trails
0.1 mi
0.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
445 ac
165 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
89%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
3.1 mi
3.1 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Hudson?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Hudson have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Hudson is ahead of 68% of U.S. towns, #68 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 Hudson’s overall grade.
Conserved land7% of the land · typical IA town 3% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (0 mi) · IA 0.3 · U.S. 0.4DPark land165 acres of park per 1,000 residents (445 acres) · IA 19 · U.S. 13AParks 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 68%
LessMore
Iowa towns of 2,500+ (140)Ahead of 52%
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 Black Hawk Creek Greenbelt, with 0.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Franck Park
Park
52 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Freedom Park
Park
7 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 5 parks & preserves
Black Hawk Creek Greenbelt350 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsFranck Park52 acres
Byron Sergeant Memorial Park22 acres
DirectionsFreedom Park7 acres
City Park3 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
371 conserved acres
7% of Hudson’s land. Who manages Hudson’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County364 ac
Town or city7 ac
Local Conservation Area · 360 acLocal Park · 12 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Black Hawk Creek Greenbelt Local Conservation Area | County | 360 | Open |
| Freedom Park Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Open |
| Byron Sergeant Mem. Hwy. Rest Area Local Park | County | 4 | Open |
| Hudson Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
Trails & water
1 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
3.1 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
3.1 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
6Baseball
2Soccer
1Basketball
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 Hudson
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 | 60 | 71 | 80 | 83 | 81 | 75 | 62 | 45 | 32 |
| Rain (in) | 1.1 | 1.2 | 1.9 | 3.9 | 4.8 | 5.7 | 4.3 | 4.2 | 3.6 | 2.8 | 2.0 | 1.4 |
January is the driest month (1.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 5.7 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Hudson →
Next door
Hudson and its neighbors
Hudson has the second most mapped trails of the 2 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hudson | 7% | under 0.1 | 165 | 89% | B+ |
| Cedar Falls | 4% | 0.4 | 34 | 90% | B+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Hudson
Where can I hike in Hudson?
The longest trail networks: Black Hawk Creek Greenbelt, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Hudson is conserved land?
7% 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 Hudson’s trails?
Black Hawk Creek Greenbelt and Franck Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Hudson?
3.1 miles of bike routes are on the map: 3.1 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Hudson?
8,276 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Hudson or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 445 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Hudson have?
Ahead of 68% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #68 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 Hudson 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 →