Daubendiek Park
Park
34 acres0.7 mi of trail
Daebendiek Park Walking Path
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Dan Breyfogle · CC BY-SA 3.0BOutdoors
Outdoors in Jefferson
Jefferson has 92 acres of parks, 22 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Daubendiek Park (0.7 mi). 0.9 miles of mapped trail cross Jefferson, 0.1 per square mile of land. 2% of Jefferson’s land is conserved, about 81 acres.
Ahead of 57% of U.S. towns · #89 of 140 in Iowa. What drives it
Conserved land
2%
81 acres · of 6.0 sq mi of land
Trails
0.9 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
92 ac
22 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
92%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
2.1 mi
0.2 mi lanes · 1.9 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Jefferson?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Jefferson have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Jefferson is ahead of 57% of U.S. towns, #89 of 140 in Iowa. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Jefferson’s overall grade.
Conserved land2% of the land · typical IA town 3% · U.S. 4%C+Trails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · IA 0.3 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land22 acres of park per 1,000 residents (92 acres) · IA 19 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home92% 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 57%
LessMore
Iowa towns of 2,500+ (140)Ahead of 37%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to B+. 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 Daubendiek Park, with 0.7 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Kelso Park
Park
5 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Chautauqua Park
Park
5 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 6 parks & preserves
Daubendiek Park34 acres · 0.7 mi of trail
DirectionsHead Park13 acres
DirectionsKelso Park5 acres
Chautauqua Park5 acres
Russell Park4 acres
Washington Park1 acres
Who protects it
81 conserved acres
2% of Jefferson’s land. Who manages Jefferson’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city68 ac
County13 ac
Local Park · 68 acLocal Recreation Area · 13 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daubendiek Park Local Park | Town or city | 39 | Open |
| Raccoon River Valley Trail Local Park | County | 13 | Open |
| Head Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 9 | Open |
| Kelso Park Local Park | Town or city | 7 | Open |
| Chautauqua Park Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Open |
| Jefferson Softball Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Russell Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Washington Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
2 places to go in Jefferson
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Jefferson
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
1 named trail and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Daebendiek Park Walking Path0.6 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
2.1 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.2 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
1.9 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
6Baseball
2Tennis
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →6 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 2 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Greene County CourthouseBuilding · listed 1978
About itLincoln StatueObject · listed 1993
About itLincoln Highway Marker (2)Object · listed 1993
About itLincoln Highway-Raccoon River Rural SegmentDistrict · listed 1993
About itChicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Depot-JeffersonBuilding · listed 1994
About itJefferson Square Commercial Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2011
About itWhen to get out
September is the best month for walking in Jefferson
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 | 14.5 | 15.2 | 14.9 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.1 |
| High (°F) | 28 | 34 | 47 | 61 | 72 | 81 | 84 | 82 | 76 | 63 | 47 | 34 |
| Rain (in) | 0.9 | 1.1 | 2.0 | 3.7 | 5.0 | 5.2 | 4.2 | 4.3 | 3.3 | 2.6 | 1.7 | 1.3 |
January is the driest month (0.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 5.2 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Jefferson →
Questions about parks and trails in Jefferson
Where can I hike in Jefferson?
The longest trail networks: Daubendiek Park, 0.7 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Jefferson is conserved land?
2% 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 Jefferson’s trails?
Daubendiek Park and Head Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Jefferson?
2.1 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.2 of painted or protected lanes and 1.9 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Jefferson?
2,889 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Jefferson or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 92 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Jefferson have?
Ahead of 57% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #89 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 Jefferson 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 →