Utility Park
Park
22 acres0.6 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Unknown professional photographer paid by the Clay County Commissioners · CC BY-SA 4.0BOutdoors
Outdoors in Clay Center
Clay Center has 81 acres of parks, 20 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Utility Park (0.6 mi). 82% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 0.8 miles of mapped trail cross Clay Center, 0.3 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 60% of U.S. towns · #50 of 151 in Kansas. What drives it
Conserved land
3%
68 acres · of 3.2 sq mi of land
Trails
0.8 mi
0.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
81 ac
20 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
82%
of residents within ½ mile
What kind of outdoors town is Clay Center?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Clay Center have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Clay Center is ahead of 60% of U.S. towns, #50 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 Clay Center’s overall grade.
Conserved land3% of the land · typical KS town 2% · U.S. 4%B−Trails0.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · KS 0.2 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land20 acres of park per 1,000 residents (81 acres) · KS 13 · U.S. 13BParks close to home82% 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 60%
LessMore
Kansas towns of 2,500+ (151)Ahead of 67%
Few Kansas towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Clay Center’s 3% is ahead of 71% of Kansas towns, while its trails per square mile lead 52% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would still be 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 Utility Park, with 0.6 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Fairgrounds Ball Park
Park
26 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Huntress Park
Park
14 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Dexter Park
Park
6 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 5 parks & preserves
Utility Park22 acres · 0.6 mi of trail
Fairgrounds Ball Park26 acres
Huntress Park14 acres
Dexter Park6 acres
Reed Park3 acres
Who protects it
68 conserved acres
3% of Clay Center’s land. Who manages Clay Center’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city68 ac
Local Park · 46 acLocal Recreation Area · 22 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Utility Park Local Park | Town or city | 22 | Open |
| Fairgrounds Ball Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 22 | Open |
| Huntress Park Local Park | Town or city | 14 | Open |
| Dexter Park Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| Reed Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
Things to do
1 places to go in Clay Center
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Clay Center
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Biking & sports
0.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Courts & fields
9Baseball
6Tennis
1Basketball
1Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →3 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
When to get out
April is the best month for walking in Clay Center
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) | 39 | 45 | 56 | 66 | 76 | 86 | 91 | 89 | 81 | 69 | 54 | 42 |
| Rain (in) | 0.7 | 1.0 | 1.8 | 2.9 | 4.8 | 4.6 | 4.3 | 3.9 | 2.8 | 2.3 | 1.4 | 1.1 |
January is the driest month (0.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 91 °F). 4.8 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 91 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Clay Center →
Questions about parks and trails in Clay Center
Where can I hike in Clay Center?
The longest trail networks: Utility Park, 0.6 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Clay Center 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 Clay Center’s trails?
Utility Park and Fairgrounds Ball Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Clay Center?
7,467 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Clay Center or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 81 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Clay Center have?
Ahead of 60% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #50 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 Clay Center 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 →