Gaukel Park
Park
19 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Jared Winkler · CC BY-SA 4.0B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Onawa
8% of Onawa’s land is conserved: 268 acres
87% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 60 acres are parks and preserves, 21 per 1,000 residents. 0.9 miles of mapped trail cross Onawa, 0.2 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 68% of U.S. towns · #65 of 140 in Iowa. What drives it
Conserved land
8%
268 acres · of 5.3 sq mi of land
Trails
0.9 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
60 ac
21 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
87%
of residents within ½ mile
What kind of outdoors town is Onawa?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Onawa have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Onawa is ahead of 68% of U.S. towns, #65 of 140 in Iowa. Conserved land holds the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Onawa’s overall grade.
Conserved land8% of the land · typical IA town 3% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · IA 0.3 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land21 acres of park per 1,000 residents (60 acres) · IA 19 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home87% 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 68%
LessMore
Iowa towns of 2,500+ (140)Ahead of 54%
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 Gaukel Park, with 0.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Gramm Wetland
Nature preserve
207 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Monona County Arboretum
Park
12 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Liberty Park
Park
3 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 5 parks & preserves
Gaukel Park19 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
Ropes Park2 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Gramm Wetland207 acres
Monona County Arboretum12 acres
Liberty Park3 acres
Who protects it
268 conserved acres
8% of Onawa’s land. Who manages Onawa’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County225 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)215 ac
Town or city40 ac
Conservation Easement · 215 acLocal Conservation Area · 212 acLocal Park · 53 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 4 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gramm Wetland Local Conservation Area | County | 212 | Open |
| Gaukel Park Local Park | Town or city | 34 | Open |
| Monona Arboretum Local Park | County | 13 | Open |
| Liberty Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Ropes Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
Biking & sports
0.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Courts & fields
5Baseball
4Tennis
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
The walking year in Onawa
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) | 30 | 35 | 49 | 62 | 73 | 83 | 86 | 83 | 77 | 64 | 48 | 34 |
| Rain (in) | 0.7 | 0.8 | 1.7 | 3.2 | 4.5 | 4.4 | 3.4 | 3.9 | 3.2 | 2.2 | 1.4 | 1.1 |
January is the driest month (0.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 86 °F). 4.5 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Onawa →
Questions about parks and trails in Onawa
Where can I hike in Onawa?
The longest trail networks: Gaukel Park, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Onawa is conserved land?
8% 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 Onawa’s trails?
Gaukel Park and Gramm Wetland don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Onawa?
9,625 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Onawa or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 60 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Onawa have?
Ahead of 68% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #65 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 Onawa 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 →