Cedar Bend Park
Park
17 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Torindkflt. · CC BY 3.0B−Outdoors
Outdoors in Vinton
98% of residents live within a half mile of a park in Vinton
0.4 miles of mapped trail cross Vinton, 0.1 per square mile of land. 2% of Vinton’s land is conserved, about 49 acres. 57 acres are parks and preserves, 11 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 48% of U.S. towns · #99 of 140 in Iowa. What drives it
Conserved land
2%
49 acres · of 4.9 sq mi of land
Trails
0.4 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
57 ac
11 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
98%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.5 mi
0.5 mi paths
What kind of outdoors town is Vinton?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Vinton have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Vinton is ahead of 48% of U.S. towns, #99 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 Vinton’s overall grade.
Conserved land2% of the land · typical IA town 3% · U.S. 4%C+Trails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (0 mi) · IA 0.3 · U.S. 0.4CPark land11 acres of park per 1,000 residents (57 acres) · IA 19 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to home98% 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 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.
Riverside Park
Park
16 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 5 parks & preserves
Cedar Bend Park17 acres
Riverside Park16 acres
Kiwanis Park12 acres
DirectionsAnderson Park3 acres
DirectionsCelebration Park2 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
49 conserved acres
2% of Vinton’s land. Who manages Vinton’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city46 ac
County3 ac
Local Park · 49 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cedar Bend Park Local Park | Town or city | 16 | Open |
| Riverside Park Local Park | Town or city | 14 | Open |
| Kiwanis Park Local Park | Town or city | 12 | Open |
| Cumberland's Recreation Area Local Park | County | 3 | Open |
| Celebration Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Anderson Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
| Jaycee Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
| Veterans Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
5 places to go in Vinton
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Vinton
5 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Biking & sports
0.5 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.5 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
6Baseball
4Tennis
2Beach volleyball
1Football
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →6 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Benton County CourthouseBuilding · listed 1976
About itFrank G. Ray House & Carriage HouseBuilding · listed 1982
About itVinton Public LibraryBuilding · listed 1983
About itBurlington, Cedar Rapids & Northern Passenger Station-VintonBuilding · listed 1990
About itIowa Canning Company Seed House BuildingBuilding · listed 2012
About itCentral Vinton Residential Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2012
About itWhen to get out
September is the best month for walking in Vinton
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 | 15.2 | 15.0 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.1 |
| High (°F) | 27 | 32 | 46 | 60 | 71 | 80 | 84 | 81 | 75 | 62 | 46 | 33 |
| Rain (in) | 1.1 | 1.2 | 2.0 | 3.8 | 4.7 | 5.5 | 4.3 | 4.4 | 3.6 | 2.9 | 2.0 | 1.5 |
January is the driest month (1.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 5.5 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Vinton →
Questions about parks and trails in Vinton
How much of Vinton is conserved land?
2% 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 Vinton’s trails?
Cedar Bend Park and Riverside Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Vinton?
0.5 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.5 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Vinton?
6,488 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Vinton or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 57 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Vinton have?
Ahead of 48% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #99 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 Vinton 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 →