Mill Race Park
Park
83 acres2.4 mi of trail
Columbus People Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Carol M. Highsmith · Public domainB−Outdoors
Outdoors in Columbus
Columbus has 21 miles of mapped trails, 0.7 for every square mile of land
The biggest trail networks: Mill Race Park (2.4 mi), Pauline Crump Nature Preserve (1.1 mi), Clifty Creek Park (1 mi). 456 acres are parks and preserves, 8.8 per 1,000 residents. 2% of Columbus’ land is conserved, about 455 acres.
Ahead of 50% of U.S. towns · #189 of 593 in Indiana. What drives it
Conserved land
2%
455 acres · of 30.0 sq mi of land
Trails
21 mi
0.7 per sq mi of land
Park land
456 ac
8.8 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
57%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
48 mi
10 mi lanes · 31 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
6
1 boat launch
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Columbus have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Columbus is ahead of 50% of U.S. towns, #189 of 593 in Indiana. Trail miles hold the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
B−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Columbus’ overall grade.
Conserved land2% of the land · typical IN town 2% · U.S. 4%B−Trails0.7 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (21 mi) · IN 0.1 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land8.8 acres of park per 1,000 residents (456 acres) · IN 10 · U.S. 13C+Parks close to home57% 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 50%
LessMore
Indiana towns of 2,500+ (593)Ahead of 68%
Few Indiana towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Columbus’ 2% is ahead of 60% of Indiana towns, while its trails per square mile lead 89% 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 Mill Race Park, with 2.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Pauline Crump Nature Preserve
Nature preserve
42 acres1.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 14 parks & preserves
Mill Race Park83 acres · 2.4 mi of trail
DirectionsPauline Crump Nature Preserve42 acres · 1.1 mi of trail
DirectionsClifty Creek Park64 acres · 1 mi of trail
DirectionsDonner Park33 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
Courthouse Square2 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsBlackwell Park42 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsNoblitt Park68 acres
DirectionsLincoln Park34 acres
DirectionsOakbrook Park9 acres
DirectionsRichards School Park7 acres · Columbus Parks and Recreation Department
DirectionsHarrison Ridge Park4 acres
DirectionsMead Village Park1 acres
Morningside Park1 acres · Columbus Parks and Rec
9th Street Park1 acres
Who protects it
455 conserved acres
2% of Columbus’ land. Who manages Columbus’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city433 ac
Private owners20 ac
County2 ac
Local Park · 343 acLocal Recreation Area · 92 acConservation Easement · 20 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 20 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 18 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mill Race Park Local Park | Town or city | 94 | Open |
| Clifty Creek Park Local Park | Town or city | 76 | Open |
| Blackwell Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 59 | Open |
| Noblitt Park Local Park | Town or city | 50 | Open |
| Lincoln Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 33 | Open |
| Donner Park Local Park | Town or city | 33 | Open |
| Mccolloughs Run Park Local Park | Town or city | 31 | Open |
| Everroad Park Local Park | Town or city | 22 | Open |
| Eigth St Park Local Park | Town or city | 10 | Open |
| Oakbrook Park Local Park | Town or city | 10 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
25 places to go in Columbus
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Columbus
Freedom Field Park
DirectionsPlus 22 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Columbus
1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Disc golf in Columbus
1 disc golf course without a name on the map.
Trails & water
2 named trails and 6 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 2.4 miUnpaved · 0.8 mi
Columbus People Trail0.8 mi
County Road North 150 West0.2 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
48 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
10 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
31 mi
off-road bike paths
7.0 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
43Tennis
29Baseball
24Basketball
10Pickleball
7Football
3Soccer
2Softball
1Skate park
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →14 places on the National Register, 6 of them National Historic Landmarks
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 5 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
McEwen-Samuels-Marr HouseBuilding · listed 1978
About itBartholomew County CourthouseBuilding · listed 1979
About itColumbus City HallBuilding · listed 1979
About itColumbus Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1982
About itMcKinley SchoolBuilding · listed 1988
About itHaw Creek Leather CompanyBuilding · listed 1998
About it2 more on the History page.
When to get out
August is the best month for walking in Columbus
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 | 14.7 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.0 | 9.4 |
| High (°F) | 38 | 43 | 53 | 66 | 75 | 83 | 86 | 85 | 79 | 67 | 54 | 42 |
| Rain (in) | 3.4 | 2.8 | 3.8 | 4.8 | 5.1 | 5.1 | 4.4 | 3.6 | 3.3 | 3.5 | 3.6 | 3.5 |
February is the driest month (2.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 86 °F). 5.1 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Columbus →
Next door
Columbus and its neighbors
Columbus has the second most mapped trails of the 4 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Columbus | 2% | 0.7 | 9 | 57% | B− |
| Columbus Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Harrison Township | 1% | 0.4 | 30 | 37% | C+ |
| German Township | 1% | 0.1 | 17 | 25% | C |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Columbus
Where can I hike in Columbus?
The longest trail networks: Mill Race Park, 2.4 miles; Pauline Crump Nature Preserve, 1.1 miles; Clifty Creek Park, 1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Columbus is conserved land?
2% 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 Columbus’ trails?
Mill Race Park and Pauline Crump Nature Preserve don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Columbus?
48 miles of bike routes are on the map: 10 of painted or protected lanes, 31 of off-road paths and 7.0 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Columbus?
7,120 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Columbus or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 456 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Columbus have?
Ahead of 50% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #189 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 Columbus 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 →