Foote Park
Managed by Greater Middleton Parks and Recreation District
18 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: Tamanoeconomico · CC BY-SA 4.0BOutdoors
Outdoors in Middleton
Middleton has 10 miles of mapped trails, 1.5 for every square mile of land
88% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 77 acres are parks and preserves, 7.3 per 1,000 residents. 1% of Middleton’s land is conserved, about 61 acres.
Ahead of 62% of U.S. towns · #24 of 59 in Idaho. What drives it
Conserved land
1%
61 acres · of 6.6 sq mi of land
Trails
10 mi
1.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
77 ac
7.3 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
88%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
3.2 mi
1.4 mi lanes · 1.7 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Middleton?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Middleton have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Middleton is ahead of 62% of U.S. towns, #24 of 59 in Idaho. Trail miles hold the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Middleton’s overall grade.
Conserved land1% of the land · typical ID town 2% · U.S. 4%CTrails1.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (10 mi) · ID 0.7 · U.S. 0.4APark land7.3 acres of park per 1,000 residents (77 acres) · ID 6 · U.S. 13C+Parks close to home88% of residents within a half mile of a park · ID 87% · U.S. 72%B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 62%
LessMore
Idaho towns of 2,500+ (59)Ahead of 60%
Few Idaho towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Middleton’s 1% is ahead of 33% of Idaho towns, while its trails per square mile lead 83% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ 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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Hawthorne Park
Managed by Greater Middleton Parks and Recreation District
7 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Hillside Park
Managed by Greater Middleton Parks & Recreation District
6 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 8 parks & preserves
Foote Park18 acres · Greater Middleton Parks and Recreation District
DirectionsMiddleton Place Park14 acres
DirectionsHawthorne Park7 acres · Greater Middleton Parks and Recreation District
DirectionsHillside Park6 acres · Greater Middleton Parks & Recreation District
Piccadilly Park5 acres
DirectionsEd Payne Park3 acres · Greater Middleton Parks and Recreation District
DirectionsCentennial Grove Park3 acres
DirectionsRoadside Park2 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
61 conserved acres
1% of Middleton’s land. Who manages Middleton’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Regional agency30 ac
Town or city28 ac
State Department of Land2 ac
State fish & wildlife1 ac
Local Recreation Area · 33 acLocal Park · 25 acUnknown Easement · 2 acState Recreation Area · 1 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 3 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 2 of 10 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foote Park Local Recreation Area | Regional agency | 18 | Open |
| Harmon Park Local Park | Town or city | 14 | Open |
| Greater Park Local Recreation Area | Regional agency | 8 | Open |
| Middleton Bike Path Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 7 | Open |
| Piccadilly Park Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Open |
| Ed Payne Park Local Park | Regional agency | 4 | Open |
| Roadside Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
| Airport Access Site State Recreation Area | State fish & wildlife | 1 | Open |
Things to do
25 places to go in Middleton
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Middleton
Park Place PlaygroundIn Middleton Place Park
DirectionsPlus 24 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
1 named trail and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 8.4 mi
Middleton River Walk1.4 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
3.2 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.4 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
1.7 mi
off-road bike paths
0.2 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
16Basketball
16Baseball
14Tennis
6Soccer
6Softball
3Beach volleyball
2Football
1Multi-sport
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 2 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Middleton SubstationBuilding · listed 1973
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Middleton: April to June and September
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 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 8.9 |
| High (°F) | 39 | 47 | 57 | 65 | 74 | 82 | 93 | 91 | 81 | 66 | 50 | 39 |
| Rain (in) | 1.5 | 1.0 | 1.2 | 1.1 | 1.3 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 0.8 | 1.2 | 1.6 |
August is the driest month (0.2 in) and July the warmest (highs of 93 °F). 1.6 inches fall in December, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 93 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Middleton →
Questions about parks and trails in Middleton
How much of Middleton is conserved land?
1% of its land, against a typical 2% for an Idaho town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Middleton’s trails?
OpenStreetMap records dogs as welcome at Middleton Place Park (on leash). For the rest, check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Middleton?
3.2 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.4 of painted or protected lanes, 1.7 of off-road paths and 0.2 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Middleton?
9,940 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Middleton or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 77 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Middleton have?
Ahead of 62% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #24 of 59 in Idaho. 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 Middleton 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 →