Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library & Museum
Park
22 acres0.8 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trailhead
Photo: Ichabod · CC BY-SA 3.0BOutdoors
Outdoors in Abilene
Abilene has 115 acres of parks, 18 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library & Museum (0.8 mi). 80% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 1.2 miles of mapped trail cross Abilene, 0.2 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 57% of U.S. towns · #57 of 151 in Kansas. What drives it
Conserved land
3%
92 acres · of 4.8 sq mi of land
Trails
1.2 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
115 ac
18 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
80%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.2 mi
0.2 mi paths
What kind of outdoors town is Abilene?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Abilene have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Abilene is ahead of 57% of U.S. towns, #57 of 151 in Kansas. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Abilene’s overall grade.
Conserved land3% of the land · typical KS town 2% · U.S. 4%B−Trails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · KS 0.2 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land18 acres of park per 1,000 residents (115 acres) · KS 13 · U.S. 13BParks close to home80% of residents within a half mile of a park · KS 76% · U.S. 72%B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 57%
LessMore
Kansas towns of 2,500+ (151)Ahead of 63%
Few Kansas towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Abilene’s 3% is ahead of 66% of Kansas towns, while its trails per square mile lead 51% 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 Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library & Museum, with 0.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Bicentennial Park
Park
4 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
92 conserved acres
3% of Abilene’s land. Who manages Abilene’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city91 ac
Local Park · 64 acLocal Recreation Area · 27 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eisenhower Park Local Park | Town or city | 60 | Open |
| North Diamond Complex Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 27 | Open |
| Bicentennial Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
Things to do
2 places to go in Abilene
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Dog parks in Abilene
1 dog park without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Campgrounds in Abilene
Flatland RV Park
DirectionsBiking & sports
0.2 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.2 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
8Tennis
7Baseball
1Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →29 places on the National Register, one a National Historic Landmark
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.
Eisenhower HomeBuilding · listed 1971
About itC. H. Lebold HouseBuilding · listed 1973
About itA. B. Seelye HouseBuilding · listed 1986
About itJohn Johntz HouseBuilding · listed 1991
About itAbilene Union Pacific Railroad Passenger DepotBuilding · listed 1992
About itAbilene Union Pacific Railroad Freight DepotBuilding · listed 1993
About itEmerson Coulson HouseBuilding · listed 1995
About itD. G. Smith BuildingBuilding · listed 1995
About itPerring BuildingBuilding · listed 1998
About itLitts-Dieter HouseBuilding · listed 2000
About itMead-Rogers HouseBuilding · listed 2000
About it17 more on the History page.
When to get out
April is the best month for walking in Abilene
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 | 9.4 |
| High (°F) | 41 | 46 | 57 | 68 | 77 | 87 | 92 | 90 | 82 | 70 | 55 | 43 |
| Rain (in) | 0.8 | 1.2 | 2.1 | 3.0 | 5.0 | 4.3 | 4.6 | 4.0 | 2.8 | 2.4 | 1.4 | 1.3 |
January is the driest month (0.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 92 °F). 5.0 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 92 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Abilene →
Next door
Abilene 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abilene | 3% | 0.2 | 18 | 80% | B |
| Grant Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Lincoln Township | under 1% | 0.1 | under 1 | under 1% | D− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Abilene
Where can I hike in Abilene?
The longest trail networks: Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library & Museum, 0.8 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Abilene is conserved land?
3% of its land, against a typical 2% for a Kansas town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Abilene’s trails?
Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library & Museum and Eisenhower Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Abilene?
0.2 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.2 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Abilene?
368 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Abilene or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 115 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Abilene have?
Ahead of 57% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #57 of 151 in Kansas. 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 Abilene 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 →