Devot Field Park
Park
23 acres0.7 mi of trail
Roy Kirby Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Public domain · Public domainB+Outdoors
Outdoors in Columbia City
Columbia City has 6.3 miles of mapped trails, 1.1 for every square mile of land
The biggest trail networks: Devot Field Park (0.7 mi). 194 acres are parks and preserves, 20 per 1,000 residents. 79% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 73% of U.S. towns · #68 of 593 in Indiana. What drives it
Conserved land
3%
104 acres · of 5.6 sq mi of land
Trails
6.3 mi
1.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
194 ac
20 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
79%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
4.6 mi
4.6 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Columbia City?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Columbia City have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Columbia City is ahead of 73% of U.S. towns, #68 of 593 in Indiana. Trail miles hold the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Columbia City’s overall grade.
Conserved land3% of the land · typical IN town 2% · U.S. 4%B−Trails1.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (6 mi) · IN 0.1 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land20 acres of park per 1,000 residents (194 acres) · IN 10 · U.S. 13BParks close to home79% of residents within a half mile of a park · IN 51% · U.S. 72%B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 73%
LessMore
Indiana towns of 2,500+ (593)Ahead of 89%
Few Indiana towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Columbia City’s 3% is ahead of 66% of Indiana towns, while its trails per square mile lead 96% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B 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
The longest trail network is Devot Field Park, with 0.7 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Every Kids Dreamland
Park
4 acres0.1 mi of trail
Roy Kirby Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 7 parks & preserves
Devot Field Park23 acres · 0.7 mi of trail
DirectionsMorsches Park109 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsEvery Kids Dreamland4 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsKenneth Wright Park2 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsWhitley County 4-H Fair Grounds45 acres
DirectionsSouth Side Park1 acres
Patriotic Park1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
104 conserved acres
3% of Columbia City’s land. Who manages Columbia City’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city104 ac
Local Park · 95 acLocal Recreation Area · 9 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Morsches Park Local Park | Town or city | 89 | Open |
| Devol Field Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 9 | Open |
| Every Kids Dreamland Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Kenneth Wright Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
Things to do
6 places to go in Columbia City
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Columbia City
Every Kids DreamlandIn Every Kids Dreamland
DirectionsPlus 4 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Picnic areas in Columbia City
Morsches ParkIn Morsches Park
DirectionsTrails & water
1 named trail and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Roy Kirby Trail0.8 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
4.6 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
4.6 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
15Baseball
6Tennis
3Basketball
2Equestrian
1Volleyball
1Pickleball
1Football
1Soccer
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →4 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 28 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
September is the best month for walking in Columbia City
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) | 9.5 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.5 | 15.1 | 14.9 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.2 |
| High (°F) | 32 | 36 | 48 | 61 | 72 | 81 | 83 | 81 | 76 | 63 | 49 | 37 |
| Rain (in) | 2.4 | 1.8 | 2.4 | 3.7 | 4.3 | 4.4 | 4.0 | 4.2 | 3.0 | 2.9 | 3.0 | 2.4 |
February is the driest month (1.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 4.4 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Columbia City →
Next door
Columbia City and its neighbors
Columbia City has the most mapped trails of the 3 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Columbia City | 3% | 1.1 | 20 | 79% | B+ |
| Columbia Township | under 1% | 0.1 | 16 | 68% | C+ |
| Thorncreek Township | 2% | 0.1 | 76 | 20% | C+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Columbia City
Where can I hike in Columbia City?
The longest trail networks: Devot Field Park, 0.7 miles; Morsches Park, 0.2 miles; Every Kids Dreamland, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Columbia City is conserved land?
3% 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 Columbia City’s trails?
Devot Field Park and Morsches Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Columbia City?
4.6 miles of bike routes are on the map: 4.6 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Columbia City?
597 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Columbia City or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 194 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Columbia City have?
Ahead of 73% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #68 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 Columbia City 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 →