Indianola High School · Photo: Paul R. Burley · CC BY-SA 4.0Indianola has 8.8 miles of mapped trails, 0.8 for every square mile of land
The biggest trail networks: Memorial Park (0.5 mi), Buxton Park (0.5 mi). 83% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 264 acres are parks and preserves, 16 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 71% of U.S. towns · #59 of 140 in Iowa. What drives it
What kind of outdoors town is Indianola?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
How much outdoors does Indianola have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Indianola is ahead of 71% of U.S. towns, #59 of 140 in Iowa. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; trail miles rank highest, conserved land lowest.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Pick a walk
The longest trail network is Memorial Park, with 0.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Pickard Recreation Area
All 13 parks & preserves
251 conserved acres
3% of Indianola’s land. Who manages Indianola’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pickard Recreation Area Local Park | Town or city | 156 | Open |
| Denelsky Park Local Park | Town or city | 24 | Open |
| Mccord Park Local Park | Town or city | 16 | Open |
| Summerset Trail State Recreation Area | County | 13 | Open |
| Memorial Park Local Park | Town or city | 12 | Open |
| Downey Memorial Park And Indianola Off-Leash Park Local Park | Town or city | 11 | Open |
| Buxton Park Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Open |
| South Town Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Moats Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Easton Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
3 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
14 places to go in Indianola
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
13 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
1 lakes & rivers
4.8 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
3 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
The walking year in Indianola
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 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.5 | 15.1 | 14.9 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.2 |
| High (°F) | 31 | 36 | 49 | 62 | 72 | 82 | 85 | 84 | 77 | 64 | 49 | 36 |
| Rain (in) | 0.9 | 1.3 | 2.0 | 3.8 | 5.2 | 5.3 | 4.2 | 4.2 | 3.7 | 2.7 | 1.8 | 1.4 |
January is the driest month (0.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 85 °F). 5.3 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Indianola →
Questions about parks and trails in Indianola
Where can I hike in Indianola?
The longest trail networks: Memorial Park, 0.5 miles; Buxton Park, 0.5 miles; Pickard Recreation Area, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Indianola is conserved land?
3% 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 Indianola’s trails?
Memorial Park and Buxton Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Indianola?
4.8 miles of bike routes are on the map: 4.8 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Indianola?
6,385 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Indianola or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 264 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Indianola have?
Ahead of 71% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #59 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 Indianola neighbors.
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 →