Delwein City Park
Park
65 acres0.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Jim Roberts · CC BY-SA 4.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Oelwein
5% of Oelwein’s land is conserved, and 96% of residents live within a half mile of a park
The biggest trail networks: Delwein City Park (0.5 mi). 179 acres are parks and preserves, 31 per 1,000 residents. 5% of Oelwein’s land is conserved, about 168 acres.
Ahead of 76% of U.S. towns · #47 of 140 in Iowa. What drives it
Conserved land
5%
168 acres · of 4.8 sq mi of land
Trails
1.4 mi
0.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
179 ac
31 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
96%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
4.4 mi
4.4 mi paths
What kind of outdoors town is Oelwein?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Oelwein have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Oelwein is ahead of 76% of U.S. towns, #47 of 140 in Iowa. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of residents near a park ranks highest, trail miles lowest.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Oelwein’s overall grade.
Conserved land5% of the land · typical IA town 3% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · IA 0.3 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land31 acres of park per 1,000 residents (179 acres) · IA 19 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home96% 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 76%
LessMore
Iowa towns of 2,500+ (140)Ahead of 67%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ to 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
The longest trail network is Delwein City Park, with 0.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Red Gate Park
Park
33 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Platt Park
Park
13 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 7 parks & preserves
Delwein City Park65 acres · 0.5 mi of trail
Red Gate Park33 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Wings Park17 acres
DirectionsPlatt Park13 acres
Reedy Park4 acres
DirectionsLevin Park2 acres
Plaza Park1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
168 conserved acres
5% of Oelwein’s land. Who manages Oelwein’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city167 ac
Local Park · 134 acLocal Recreation Area · 34 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Delwein City Park Local Park | Town or city | 64 | Open |
| Oelwein Baseball And Softball Complex Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 34 | Open |
| Red Gate Park Local Park | Town or city | 30 | Open |
| Wings Park Local Park | Town or city | 18 | Open |
| Platt Park Local Park | Town or city | 16 | Open |
| Reidy Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Levin Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
6 places to go in Oelwein
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in Oelwein
Oelwein Municipal Pool
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Oelwein
Wings Park PlaygroundIn Wings Park
DirectionsPlus 2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Campgrounds in Oelwein
1 campground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Disc golf in Oelwein
1 disc golf course without a name on the map.
Biking & sports
4.4 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
4.4 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
9Baseball
8Tennis
1Basketball
1Skate park
1Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →3 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
When to get out
September is the best month for walking in Oelwein
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 | 14.6 | 15.3 | 15.0 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.1 |
| High (°F) | 25 | 30 | 43 | 58 | 70 | 79 | 82 | 80 | 74 | 60 | 45 | 31 |
| Rain (in) | 1.1 | 1.2 | 2.0 | 3.8 | 4.8 | 5.9 | 4.8 | 4.2 | 3.7 | 2.8 | 2.0 | 1.5 |
January is the driest month (1.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 5.9 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Oelwein →
Questions about parks and trails in Oelwein
Where can I hike in Oelwein?
The longest trail networks: Delwein City Park, 0.5 miles; Red Gate Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Oelwein is conserved land?
5% 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 Oelwein’s trails?
Delwein City Park and Red Gate Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Oelwein?
4.4 miles of bike routes are on the map: 4.4 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Oelwein?
1,620 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Oelwein or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 179 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Oelwein have?
Ahead of 76% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #47 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 Oelwein 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 →