Gateway Park
Managed by Iowa County Conservation
98 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: cwwycoff1 · CC BY 2.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Marengo
Marengo has 126 acres of parks, 46 for every 1,000 residents
1.3 miles of mapped trail cross Marengo, 0.6 per square mile of land. 85% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 7% of Marengo’s land is conserved, about 89 acres.
Ahead of 82% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
7%
89 acres · of 2.1 sq mi of land
Trails
1.3 mi
0.6 per sq mi of land
Park land
126 ac
46 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
85%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.9 mi
0.9 mi paths
What kind of outdoors town is Marengo?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Marengo have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Marengo is ahead of 82% of U.S. towns. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; park acres per resident rank highest, conserved land lowest.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Marengo’s overall grade.
Conserved land7% of the land · typical IA town 3% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.6 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · IA 0.3 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land46 acres of park per 1,000 residents (126 acres) · IA 19 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home85% 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 82%
LessMore
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would still be 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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Lion's Club Park
Park
22 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
89 conserved acres
7% of Marengo’s land. Who manages Marengo’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County89 ac
Local Park · 89 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gateway Park & Preserve Local Park | County | 89 | Open |
Things to do
1 places to go in Marengo
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Marengo
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Biking & sports
0.9 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.9 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
7Baseball
1Tennis
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Iowa County CourthouseBuilding · listed 1981
About itWhen to get out
September is the best month for walking in Marengo
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 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.5 | 15.2 | 14.9 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.2 |
| High (°F) | 29 | 34 | 47 | 61 | 72 | 81 | 84 | 83 | 76 | 63 | 47 | 34 |
| Rain (in) | 1.1 | 1.2 | 2.0 | 3.7 | 4.6 | 5.3 | 4.2 | 4.2 | 3.5 | 2.9 | 2.1 | 1.5 |
January is the driest month (1.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 5.3 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Marengo →
Questions about parks and trails in Marengo
How much of Marengo 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 Marengo’s trails?
Gateway Park and Lion's Club Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Marengo?
0.9 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.9 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Marengo?
5,789 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Marengo or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 126 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Marengo have?
Ahead of 82% 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 Marengo 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 →