Assembly Park
Park
8 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Billwhittaker at English Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Iowa Falls
99% of residents live within a half mile of a park in Iowa Falls
100 acres are parks and preserves, 20 per 1,000 residents. 2.4 miles of mapped trail cross Iowa Falls, 0.4 per square mile of land. 2% of Iowa Falls’ land is conserved, about 86 acres.
Ahead of 71% of U.S. towns · #57 of 140 in Iowa State. What drives it
Conserved land
2%
86 acres · of 5.7 sq mi of land
Trails
2.4 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
100 ac
20 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.7 mi
0.1 mi lanes · 0.6 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Iowa Falls?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Iowa Falls have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Iowa Falls is ahead of 71% of U.S. towns, #57 of 140 in Iowa State. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Iowa Falls’ overall grade.
Conserved land2% of the land · typical IA town 3% · U.S. 4%C+Trails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (2 mi) · IA 0.3 · U.S. 0.4BPark land20 acres of park per 1,000 residents (100 acres) · IA 19 · U.S. 13BParks close to home99% of residents within a half mile of a park · IA 91% · U.S. 72%A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 71%
LessMore
Iowa State towns of 2,500+ (140)Ahead of 60%
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 Assembly Park, with 0.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Ira Nichols Outdoor Classroom
Managed by Hardin County Conservation
17 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Foster Park
Park
10 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 13 parks & preserves
Assembly Park8 acres · 0.4 mi of trail
Ira Nichols Outdoor Classroom17 acres · Hardin County Conservation
Sunnyside Park15 acres
DirectionsFoster Park10 acres
Ellsworth Park7 acres
Jones Park5 acres
DirectionsNorth Park5 acres
Oak Park4 acres
Roadside Park2 acres
Fitz Riverbend Park2 acres
Julia O'Neil Park2 acres
Estes Park2 acres
DirectionsDougans Landing1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
86 conserved acres
2% of Iowa Falls’ land. Who manages Iowa Falls’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city60 ac
County17 ac
Private owners5 ac
Not recorded4 ac
Local Park · 80 acLocal Recreation Area · 5 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ira Nichols Outdoor Classroom Local Park | County | 17 | Open |
| Sunnyside Park Local Park | Town or city | 15 | Open |
| Foster Park Local Park | Town or city | 10 | Open |
| Ellsworth Park Local Park | Town or city | 9 | Open |
| Assembly Park Local Park | Town or city | 7 | Open |
| Jones Park Local Park | Town or city | 7 | Open |
| American Legion Field Local Recreation Area | Private owners | 5 | Open |
| Roadside Park Local Park | Not recorded | 4 | Open |
| Oak Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| North Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
4 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
8 places to go in Iowa Falls
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in Iowa Falls
Meyer Aquatic CenterIn Jones Park
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Iowa Falls
5 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Iowa Falls
2 boat launches without a name on the map.
Trails & water
1 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.7 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.1 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
0.6 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
4Baseball
4Tennis
2Football
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →20 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.
Metropolitan Opera HouseBuilding · listed 1975
About itEdgewood School of Domestic ArtsBuilding · listed 1979
About itIowa Falls Union DepotBuilding · listed 1990
About itMills Tower Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1990
About itEllsworth-Jones BuildingBuilding · listed 1993
About itEstes Park Band ShellBuilding · listed 1993
About itFirst National BankBuilding · listed 1993
About itMcClanahan BlockBuilding · listed 1993
About itPrincess-Sweet ShopBuilding · listed 1993
About itSentinel BlockBuilding · listed 1993
About itSt. Matthew's by the Bridge Episcopal ChurchBuilding · listed 1993
About itW. R. C. HallBuilding · listed 1993
About it8 more on the History page.
When to get out
September is the best month for walking in Iowa Falls
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 | 44 | 59 | 70 | 80 | 83 | 81 | 75 | 61 | 45 | 31 |
| Rain (in) | 0.9 | 1.1 | 2.0 | 3.8 | 5.0 | 5.8 | 4.5 | 4.4 | 3.4 | 2.6 | 1.8 | 1.3 |
January is the driest month (0.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 5.8 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Iowa Falls →
Questions about parks and trails in Iowa Falls
Where can I hike in Iowa Falls?
The longest trail networks: Assembly Park, 0.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Iowa Falls is conserved land?
2% of its land, against a typical 3% for an Iowa State town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Iowa Falls’ trails?
Assembly Park and Ira Nichols Outdoor Classroom don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Iowa Falls?
0.7 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.1 of painted or protected lanes and 0.6 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Iowa Falls?
2,816 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Iowa Falls or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 100 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Iowa Falls have?
Ahead of 71% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #57 of 140 in Iowa State. 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 Iowa Falls 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 →