Riverview Park
Park
90 acres0.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Kepper66 · CC BY-SA 3.0B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Marshalltown
Marshalltown has 7.6 miles of mapped trails, 0.4 for every square mile of land
92% of residents live within a half mile of a park. The biggest trail networks: Riverview Park (0.5 mi), Timber Creek Park (0.5 mi). 416 acres are parks and preserves, 15 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 65% of U.S. towns · #76 of 140 in Iowa. What drives it
Conserved land
3%
384 acres · of 19.2 sq mi of land
Trails
7.6 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
416 ac
15 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
92%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
12 mi
12 mi paths
What kind of outdoors town is Marshalltown?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Marshalltown have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Marshalltown is ahead of 65% of U.S. towns, #76 of 140 in Iowa. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of residents near a park ranks highest, conserved land lowest.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Marshalltown’s overall grade.
Conserved land3% of the land · typical IA town 3% · U.S. 4%B−Trails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (8 mi) · IA 0.3 · U.S. 0.4BPark land15 acres of park per 1,000 residents (416 acres) · IA 19 · U.S. 13BParks 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 65%
LessMore
Iowa towns of 2,500+ (140)Ahead of 46%
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 Riverview Park, with 0.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Timber Creek Park
Park
14 acres0.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Nicholson Ford Access
Managed by City of Marshalltown
88 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Nicholson-Ford OHV Park
Park
26 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 13 parks & preserves
Riverview Park90 acres · 0.5 mi of trail
Timber Creek Park14 acres · 0.5 mi of trail
Nicholson Ford Access88 acres · City of Marshalltown
Nicholson-Ford OHV Park26 acres
Kiwanis Park9 acres
Anson Park7 acres
Tankersly Park5 acres
Stewart Bird Sanctuary2 acres
Assistance League Park2 acres
Jaycees Park1 acres
Arnold Park1 acres
Optimist Park1 acres
Susie Sower Park1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
384 conserved acres
3% of Marshalltown’s land. Who manages Marshalltown’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city357 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits26 ac
County1 ac
Local Park · 266 acLocal Recreation Area · 61 acLocal Conservation Area · 56 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nicholson Ford OHV Park Local Park | Town or city | 88 | Open |
| Riverview Park Local Park | Town or city | 78 | Open |
| Nicholson Ford Nature Area Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 55 | Open |
| Marshalltown Sofrball Complex Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 33 | Open |
| Marshalltown Area Soccer Club Local Recreation Area | Land trusts & nonprofits | 26 | Open |
| Darwin L Judge Park Local Park | Town or city | 23 | Open |
| Timber Creek Park Local Park | Town or city | 15 | Open |
| Goldfinch Park Local Park | Town or city | 13 | Open |
| Anson Park Local Park | Town or city | 9 | Open |
| Glenwood Park Local Park | Town or city | 8 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
2 places to go in Marshalltown
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in Marshalltown
pool area
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Marshalltown
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Biking & sports
12 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
12 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
20Tennis
13Baseball
5Soccer
5Softball
3Pickleball
1Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →8 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.
Marshall County CourthouseBuilding · listed 1972
About itLeroy R. Willard HouseBuilding · listed 1976
About itC. H. Whitehead HouseBuilding · listed 1979
About itThaddeus Binford HouseBuilding · listed 1984
About itRobert H. Sunday HouseBuilding · listed 1988
About itGlick-Sower HouseBuilding · listed 1993
About itMarshalltown Downtown Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2002
About itNevada Downtown Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2003
About itWhen to get out
September is the best month for walking in Marshalltown
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 | 33 | 46 | 60 | 71 | 81 | 84 | 82 | 76 | 62 | 46 | 33 |
| Rain (in) | 0.9 | 1.1 | 2.0 | 3.8 | 4.9 | 5.5 | 4.3 | 4.2 | 3.5 | 2.7 | 2.0 | 1.4 |
January is the driest month (0.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 5.5 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Marshalltown →
Questions about parks and trails in Marshalltown
Where can I hike in Marshalltown?
The longest trail networks: Riverview Park, 0.5 miles; Timber Creek Park, 0.5 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Marshalltown 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 Marshalltown’s trails?
Riverview Park and Timber Creek Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Marshalltown?
12 miles of bike routes are on the map: 12 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Marshalltown?
2,914 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Marshalltown or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 416 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Marshalltown have?
Ahead of 65% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #76 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 Marshalltown 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 →