Waterloo Community Mausoleum · Photo: Nyttend · Public domain95% of residents live within a half mile of a park in Waterloo
2% of Waterloo’s land is conserved, about 24 acres. 23 acres are parks and preserves, 11 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 38% of U.S. towns. What drives it
What kind of outdoors town is Waterloo?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
How much outdoors does Waterloo have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Waterloo is ahead of 38% of U.S. towns. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
Few Indiana towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Waterloo’s 2% is ahead of 51% of Indiana towns, while its trails per square mile lead 6% 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.
24 conserved acres
2% of Waterloo’s land. Who manages Waterloo’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Waterloo Athletic Association Ball Diamond Local Park | Town or city | 14 | Open |
| Veterans Memorial Park Local Park | Town or city | 7 | Open |
| Francis Thomson Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
1 places to go in Waterloo
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
0.8 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
September is the best month for walking in Waterloo
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 | 15.2 | 14.9 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.2 |
| High (°F) | 32 | 36 | 47 | 60 | 71 | 80 | 83 | 81 | 75 | 63 | 48 | 37 |
| Rain (in) | 2.5 | 2.0 | 2.4 | 3.7 | 4.5 | 3.8 | 3.6 | 3.7 | 3.1 | 2.9 | 3.0 | 2.4 |
February is the driest month (2.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 4.5 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Waterloo →
Questions about parks and trails in Waterloo
How much of Waterloo 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.
Where can I bike in Waterloo?
0.8 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.8 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Waterloo?
1,689 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Waterloo or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 23 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Waterloo have?
Ahead of 38% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade. 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 Waterloo 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 →