Riverview Park
Park
24 acres0.6 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: JoeyBLS · Public domainB+Outdoors
Outdoors in Lake Station
Lake Station has 169 acres of parks, 13 for every 1,000 residents
93% of residents live within a half mile of a park. The biggest trail networks: Riverview Park (0.6 mi). 5% of Lake Station’s land is conserved, about 250 acres.
Ahead of 68% of U.S. towns · #85 of 593 in Indiana. What drives it
Conserved land
5%
250 acres · of 8.3 sq mi of land
Trails
3.2 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
169 ac
13 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
93%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
3.0 mi
3.0 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
4
1 beach · 3 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Lake Station?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Lake Station have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Lake Station is ahead of 68% of U.S. towns, #85 of 593 in Indiana. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of residents near a park ranks highest, park acres per resident lowest.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Lake Station’s overall grade.
Conserved land5% of the land · typical IN town 2% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (3 mi) · IN 0.1 · U.S. 0.4BPark land13 acres of park per 1,000 residents (169 acres) · IN 10 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to home93% of residents within a half mile of a park · IN 51% · U.S. 72%A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 68%
LessMore
Indiana towns of 2,500+ (593)Ahead of 86%
Few Indiana towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Lake Station’s 5% is ahead of 79% of Indiana towns, while its trails per square mile lead 75% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B 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 Riverview Park, with 0.6 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Calumet Prairie State Nature Preserve
Managed by Indiana Department of Natural Resources
151 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Indiana Dunes National Park
Managed by National Park Service
137 acres
Dogs usually limited
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Three Rivers County Park
Managed by Lake County Parks & Recreation
59 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 7 parks & preserves
Riverview Park24 acres · 0.6 mi of trail
DirectionsCalumet Prairie State Nature Preserve151 acres · Indiana Department of Natural Resources
Indiana Dunes National Park137 acres · National Park Service
Three Rivers County Park59 acres · Lake County Parks & Recreation
DirectionsRosser Park30 acres
DirectionsLiverpool Nature Preserve18 acres
Mock Park1 acres
Who protects it
250 conserved acres
5% of Lake Station’s land. Who manages Lake Station’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources136 ac
Town or city77 ac
County38 ac
State Conservation Area · 136 acLocal Park · 88 acState Recreation Area · 27 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Calumet Prairie State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 118 | Restricted |
| Riverview Community Park Local Park | Town or city | 39 | Open |
| Deep River Outdoor Recreation Center Local Park | County | 38 | Open |
| Grand Lake Recreation Area State Recreation Area | Town or city | 27 | Open |
| Liverpool Nature Preserve State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 18 | Restricted |
| Columbus Park Local Park | Town or city | 9 | Open |
| Unknown Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
| Johnson Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
9 places to go in Lake Station
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Lake Station
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Public pools in Lake Station
2 public pools without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Playgrounds in Lake Station
3 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Boat launches in Lake Station
Deep River Water Trail, Johnson Park access point
DirectionsDeep River Water Trail, Riverview Park access point
DirectionsPlus 1 boat launch without a name on the map.
Trails & water
1 named trail and 4 lakes & rivers
Named trails
East 23rd Court0.2 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
3.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
3.0 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
6Baseball
6Tennis
2Football
2Basketball
1Skate park
1Volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Lake Station: April, July 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) | 9.5 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.5 | 15.2 | 14.9 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.2 |
| High (°F) | 32 | 36 | 47 | 59 | 70 | 80 | 83 | 82 | 76 | 63 | 49 | 37 |
| Rain (in) | 2.2 | 1.9 | 2.3 | 3.5 | 4.4 | 4.3 | 3.9 | 4.1 | 3.4 | 3.5 | 2.7 | 2.2 |
February is the driest month (1.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 4.4 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Lake Station →
Next door
Lake Station and its neighbors
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Station | 5% | 0.4 | 13 | 93% | B+ |
| Hobart | 6% | 0.3 | 28 | 76% | B+ |
| Gary | 9% | 1.0 | 41 | 95% | A |
| Hobart Township | 7% | 0.4 | 24 | 87% | A− |
| Calumet Township | 9% | 0.8 | 34 | 91% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Lake Station
Where can I hike in Lake Station?
The longest trail networks: Riverview Park, 0.6 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Lake Station is conserved land?
5% 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 Lake Station’s trails?
Riverview Park and Calumet Prairie State Nature Preserve don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Lake Station?
3.0 miles of bike routes are on the map: 3.0 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Lake Station?
15,402 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Lake Station or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 169 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Lake Station have?
Ahead of 68% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #85 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 Lake Station 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 →