Photo: Nyttend · Public domainBedford has 7.3 miles of mapped trails, 0.6 for every square mile of land
The biggest trail networks: Otis Park (4.5 mi). 249 acres are parks and preserves, 18 per 1,000 residents. 72% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 54% of U.S. towns · #167 of 593 in Indiana. What drives it
What kind of outdoors town is Bedford?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
How much outdoors does Bedford have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Bedford is ahead of 54% of U.S. towns, #167 of 593 in Indiana. Trail miles hold the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
Few Indiana towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Bedford’s 1% is ahead of 37% of Indiana towns, while its trails per square mile lead 86% 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
The longest trail network is Otis Park, with 4.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
All 11 parks & preserves
60 conserved acres
1% of Bedford’s land. Who manages Bedford’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wilson Park Local Park | Town or city | 22 | Open |
| Otis Park Local Park | Town or city | 12 | Open |
| Murrsy Park Local Park | Town or city | 10 | Open |
| Thornton Park Local Park | Town or city | 9 | Open |
| Brookside Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Edgewood Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
24 places to go in Bedford
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
2 public pools without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Plus 19 playgrounds without a name on the map.
1 named trail
3.2 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.
10 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 3 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
The best walking months in Bedford: July and August
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) | 9.7 | 10.7 | 11.8 | 13.2 | 14.3 | 14.9 | 14.6 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.0 | 9.5 |
| High (°F) | 39 | 44 | 54 | 66 | 75 | 83 | 86 | 85 | 79 | 68 | 54 | 43 |
| Rain (in) | 3.5 | 2.9 | 4.1 | 5.2 | 5.5 | 5.1 | 4.2 | 3.6 | 3.5 | 3.4 | 3.9 | 3.6 |
February is the driest month (2.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 86 °F). 5.5 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Bedford →
Questions about parks and trails in Bedford
Where can I hike in Bedford?
The longest trail networks: Otis Park, 4.5 miles; Wilson Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Bedford is conserved land?
1% of its land, against a typical 2% for an Indiana town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Bedford’s trails?
Otis Park and Murray Forest Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Bedford?
3.2 miles of bike routes are on the map: 3.2 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Bedford?
19,253 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Bedford or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 249 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Bedford have?
Ahead of 54% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #167 of 593 in Indiana. 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 Bedford 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 →