Memorial Park
Park
14 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Warby07-644-2010 · Public domainB−Outdoors
Outdoors in Milford
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park in Milford
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park. 3% of Milford’s land is conserved, about 37 acres. 39 acres are parks and preserves, 12 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 48% of U.S. towns · #100 of 140 in Iowa. What drives it
Conserved land
3%
37 acres · of 2.2 sq mi of land
Trails
0.0 mi
0.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
39 ac
12 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
2.1 mi
2.0 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Milford?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Milford have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Milford is ahead of 48% of U.S. towns, #100 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 Milford’s overall grade.
Conserved land3% of the land · typical IA town 3% · U.S. 4%B−Trails0.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (0 mi) · IA 0.3 · U.S. 0.4DPark land12 acres of park per 1,000 residents (39 acres) · IA 19 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to homeVirtually all residents within a half mile of a park · IA 91% · U.S. 72%A+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 48%
LessMore
Iowa towns of 2,500+ (140)Ahead of 29%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C 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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
All 5 parks & preserves
Memorial Park14 acres
Florence Park2 acres
DirectionsCalkins Park2 acres
DirectionsBuchanan Park2 acres
DirectionsLower Gar Lake Complex1 acres
Who protects it
37 conserved acres
3% of Milford’s land. Who manages Milford’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city20 ac
County14 ac
State natural resources2 ac
Local Park · 34 acState Conservation Area · 2 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Memorial Park Local Park | Town or city | 14 | Open |
| Dickinson County Trail Local Park | County | 14 | Open |
| Florence Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Lower Gar Lake Complex State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 2 | Open |
| Calkins Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Buchanan Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
Things to do
3 places to go in Milford
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Milford
3 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
1 lakes & rivers
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.
2.0 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
7Tracks
6Basketball
5Baseball
3Tennis
2Beach volleyball
1Softball
1Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The walking year in Milford
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) | 9.3 | 10.4 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.7 | 15.4 | 15.1 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 24 | 29 | 42 | 57 | 69 | 80 | 83 | 80 | 74 | 60 | 43 | 29 |
| Rain (in) | 0.7 | 0.8 | 1.6 | 3.3 | 4.2 | 4.8 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.2 | 2.3 | 1.4 | 0.9 |
January is the driest month (0.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 4.8 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Milford →
Next door
Milford and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Milford | 3% | under 0.1 | 12 | 99%+ | B− |
| West Okoboji | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Arnolds Park | 26% | 2.1 | 105 | 99%+ | A+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Milford
How much of Milford 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 Milford’s trails?
Memorial Park and Florence Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Milford?
2.1 miles of bike routes are on the map: 2.0 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Milford?
16,903 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Milford or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 40 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Milford have?
Ahead of 48% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #100 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 Milford 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 →