Kiwanis Park
Park
18 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Tamanoeconomico · CC BY-SA 4.0B−Outdoors
Outdoors in Payette
Payette has 14 miles of mapped trails, 3.3 for every square mile of land
30 acres are parks and preserves, 3.5 per 1,000 residents. 46% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 2% of Payette’s land is conserved, about 62 acres.
Ahead of 51% of U.S. towns · #37 of 59 in Idaho. What drives it
Conserved land
2%
62 acres · of 4.1 sq mi of land
Trails
14 mi
3.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
30 ac
3.5 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
46%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Payette?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Payette have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Payette is ahead of 51% of U.S. towns, #37 of 59 in Idaho. Trail miles hold the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
B−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Payette’s overall grade.
Conserved land2% of the land · typical ID town 2% · U.S. 4%B−Trails3.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (14 mi) · ID 0.7 · U.S. 0.4A+Park land3.5 acres of park per 1,000 residents (30 acres) · ID 6 · U.S. 13C−Parks close to home46% of residents within a half mile of a park · ID 87% · U.S. 72%C+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 51%
LessMore
Idaho towns of 2,500+ (59)Ahead of 38%
Few Idaho towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Payette’s 2% is ahead of 62% of Idaho towns, while its trails per square mile lead 97% of them.
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
The longest trail network is Kiwanis Park, with 0.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Central Park
Park
2 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
62 conserved acres
2% of Payette’s land. Who manages Payette’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State Department of Land32 ac
Town or city29 ac
Other state land4 ac
Unknown Easement · 32 acLocal Park · 29 acState Other or Unknown · 4 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 29 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 7 of 10 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kiwanis Park Local Park | Town or city | 18 | Open |
| Centennial Park Local Park | Town or city | 8 | Open |
| Idaho Military Division State Other or Unknown | Other state land | 4 | Unknown |
| Central Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
Things to do
6 places to go in Payette
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Payette
6 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 · 0.8 mi
Payette River Greenbelt0.9 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
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
4Tennis
3Basketball
1Skate park
1Soccer
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →13 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
David C. Chase HouseBuilding · listed 1978
About itA. B. Moss BuildingBuilding · listed 1978
About itGrant Whitney HouseBuilding · listed 1978
About itSt. James Episcopal ChurchBuilding · listed 1978
About itWoodward BuildingBuilding · listed 1978
About itCoughanour Apartment BlockBuilding · listed 1978
About itPayette City Hall and CourthouseBuilding · listed 1979
About itN. A. Jacobsen BuildingBuilding · listed 1982
About itPalumbo, J. C., Fruit Company Packing Warehouse BuildingBuilding · listed 1982
About itUS Post Office-Payette MainBuilding · listed 1989
About itN.A. Jacobsen HouseBuilding · listed 1998
About itPortia ClubBuilding · listed 2010
About it1 more on the History page.
When to get out
The best walking months in Payette: 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) | 9.2 | 10.4 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.7 | 15.5 | 15.2 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 8.9 |
| High (°F) | 38 | 46 | 58 | 65 | 75 | 83 | 94 | 92 | 81 | 66 | 49 | 38 |
| Rain (in) | 1.4 | 0.9 | 1.0 | 0.9 | 1.3 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 0.7 | 1.0 | 1.6 |
August is the driest month (0.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 94 °F). 1.6 inches fall in December, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 94 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Payette →
Questions about parks and trails in Payette
Where can I hike in Payette?
The longest trail networks: Kiwanis Park, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Payette is conserved land?
2% 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 Payette’s trails?
Kiwanis Park and Central Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Payette?
18,423 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Payette or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 30 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Payette have?
Ahead of 51% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #37 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 Payette 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 →