Columbus City Park
Managed by City of Columbus
6 acres0.3 mi of trail
No dogs
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Kaethesson · CC BY-SA 3.0C+Outdoors
Outdoors in Columbus
Columbus has 33 acres of parks, 11 for every 1,000 residents
2% of Columbus’ land is conserved, about 27 acres. 70% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 0.6 miles of mapped trail cross Columbus, 0.2 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 44% of U.S. towns · #91 of 151 in Kansas. What drives it
Conserved land
2%
27 acres · of 2.4 sq mi of land
Trails
0.6 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
33 ac
11 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
70%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
1
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 44% of U.S. towns, #91 of 151 in Kansas. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
C+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Columbus’ overall grade.
Conserved land2% of the land · typical KS town 2% · U.S. 4%C+Trails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · KS 0.2 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land11 acres of park per 1,000 residents (33 acres) · KS 13 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to home70% 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 44%
LessMore
Kansas towns of 2,500+ (151)Ahead of 40%
Few Kansas towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Columbus’ 2% is ahead of 46% 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 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 Columbus City Park, with 0.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Reeves Park
Managed by City of Columbus
2 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
27 conserved acres
2% of Columbus’ land. Who manages Columbus’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits17 ac
Town or city10 ac
Local Park · 27 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| 128 E Country Rd Local Park | Land trusts & nonprofits | 17 | Open |
| 615 S Kansas Ave Local Park | Town or city | 7 | Open |
| 1522 E Walnut St Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| 224 S Kansas Ave Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
19 places to go in Columbus
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in Columbus
Columbus City PoolIn Columbus City Park
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Columbus
12 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Picnic areas in Columbus
5 picnic areas without a name on the map.
Disc golf in Columbus
Columbus Disc GolfIn Columbus City Park · City of Columbus
DirectionsTrails & water
1 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
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
5Baseball
4Tennis
3Basketball
2Soccer
2Pickleball
1Football
1Beach volleyball
1Equestrian
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 1 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Columbus Public Carnegie LibraryBuilding · listed 1987
About itWhen to get out
The walking year 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) | 9.9 | 10.8 | 11.9 | 13.1 | 14.1 | 14.7 | 14.5 | 13.6 | 12.4 | 11.2 | 10.1 | 9.6 |
| High (°F) | 44 | 50 | 60 | 69 | 77 | 86 | 90 | 90 | 82 | 71 | 58 | 48 |
| Rain (in) | 1.8 | 1.9 | 3.3 | 4.9 | 6.7 | 5.4 | 4.0 | 3.7 | 4.7 | 3.8 | 3.0 | 2.3 |
January is the driest month (1.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 90 °F). 6.7 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 90 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Columbus →
Questions about parks and trails in Columbus
Where can I hike in Columbus?
The longest trail networks: Columbus City Park, 0.3 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 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 Columbus’ trails?
Columbus City Park and Reeves Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Columbus?
42 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Columbus or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 33 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Columbus have?
Ahead of 44% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #91 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 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 →