Photo: Ken Lund · CC BY-SA 2.0Preston has 41 acres of parks, 6.9 for every 1,000 residents
3.5 miles of mapped trail cross Preston, 0.5 per square mile of land. 73% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 41% of U.S. towns · #45 of 59 in Idaho. What drives it
What kind of outdoors town is Preston?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
How much outdoors does Preston have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Preston is ahead of 41% of U.S. towns, #45 of 59 in Idaho. Trail miles hold the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
Few Idaho towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Preston’s under 1% is ahead of 9% of Idaho towns, while its trails per square mile lead 40% of them.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Pick a walk
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
22 conserved acres
under 1% of Preston’s land. Who manages Preston’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 3 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2Nd St Park Local Park | Town or city | 12 | Open |
| Unknown Park Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Open |
| Idaho Military Division State Other or Unknown | Other state land | 5 | Unknown |
5 places to go in Preston
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
5 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
1 named trail and 1 lakes & rivers
0.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
5 places on the National Register, one a National Historic Landmark
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.
The best walking months in Preston: May, 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) | 9.4 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.6 | 15.2 | 15.0 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.1 |
| High (°F) | 32 | 37 | 49 | 58 | 69 | 79 | 89 | 87 | 77 | 62 | 46 | 33 |
| Rain (in) | 1.4 | 1.2 | 1.3 | 1.6 | 2.0 | 1.2 | 0.7 | 0.8 | 1.3 | 1.4 | 1.0 | 1.2 |
July is the driest month (0.7 in) and the warmest (highs of 89 °F). 2.0 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 89 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Preston →
Questions about parks and trails in Preston
How much of Preston is conserved land?
under 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 Preston’s trails?
Craner Recreational Complex and Benson Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Preston?
10,351 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Preston or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 41 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Preston have?
Ahead of 41% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #45 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 Preston neighbors.
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 →