Photo: Carl Wycoff · CC BY 2.099% of residents live within a half mile of a park in Leon
64 acres are parks and preserves, 34 per 1,000 residents. 1.8 miles of mapped trail cross Leon, 0.6 per square mile of land. 2% of Leon’s land is conserved, about 37 acres.
Ahead of 77% of U.S. towns. What drives it
What kind of outdoors town is Leon?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
How much outdoors does Leon have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Leon is ahead of 77% of U.S. towns. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Decatur County Fairgrounds
Noel Park
Harvey Park
All 6 parks & preserves
37 conserved acres
2% of Leon’s land. Who manages Leon’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Little River County Park Local Park | County | 37 | Open |
2 places to go in Leon
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
0.0 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.
1 place 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.
September is the best month for walking in Leon
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 | 9.8 | 9.3 |
| High (°F) | 33 | 38 | 51 | 63 | 72 | 82 | 86 | 84 | 77 | 64 | 50 | 38 |
| Rain (in) | 1.0 | 1.4 | 2.2 | 3.9 | 5.3 | 5.1 | 4.6 | 4.2 | 3.8 | 3.0 | 2.1 | 1.5 |
January is the driest month (1.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 86 °F). 5.3 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Leon →
Questions about parks and trails in Leon
How much of Leon 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 Leon’s trails?
Little River County Park and Decatur County Fairgrounds don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Leon?
5,892 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Leon or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 64 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Leon have?
Ahead of 77% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade. 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 Leon 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 →