Thurow Park
Park
20 acres0.9 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Gerald B. Keane · Public domainB−Outdoors
Outdoors in Dodge City
Dodge City has 280 acres of parks, 10 for every 1,000 residents
94% of residents live within a half mile of a park. The biggest trail networks: Thurow Park (0.9 mi). 2.7 miles of mapped trail cross Dodge City, 0.2 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 54% of U.S. towns · #64 of 151 in Kansas. What drives it
Conserved land
3%
276 acres · of 15.0 sq mi of land
Trails
2.7 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
280 ac
10 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
94%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
4.4 mi
4.4 mi paths
Highest peak
2,510 ft
Boot Hill
What kind of outdoors town is Dodge City?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Dodge City have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Dodge City is ahead of 54% of U.S. towns, #64 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 Dodge City’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 (3 mi) · KS 0.2 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land10 acres of park per 1,000 residents (280 acres) · KS 13 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to home94% of residents within a half mile of a park · KS 76% · U.S. 72%A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 54%
LessMore
Kansas towns of 2,500+ (151)Ahead of 58%
Few Kansas towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Dodge City’s 3% is ahead of 63% of Kansas towns, while its trails per square mile lead 45% 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 Thurow Park, with 0.9 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Saint Mary of the Plains Park
Park
73 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Chilton Park
Managed by Dodge City, KS
30 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
All 7 parks & preserves
Thurow Park20 acres · 0.9 mi of trail
Saint Mary of the Plains Park73 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsWright Park41 acres · Dodge City, KS
DirectionsChilton Park30 acres · Dodge City, KS
DirectionsOptimist Park4 acres
VFW Park4 acres
Lions Park2 acres · Dodge City, KS
Who protects it
276 conserved acres
3% of Dodge City’s land. Who manages Dodge City’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city276 ac
Local Park · 181 acLocal Recreation Area · 96 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saint Mary Of The Plains Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 88 | Open |
| Wright Park Local Park | Town or city | 59 | Open |
| Legends Park Local Park | Town or city | 42 | Open |
| Thurow Park Local Park | Town or city | 20 | Open |
| Chilton Park Local Park | Town or city | 16 | Open |
| Speirs Park Local Park | Town or city | 13 | Open |
| Youth Complex Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 8 | Open |
| Optimist Park Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| Kiwanis Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Vfw Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
12 places to go in Dodge City
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Dodge City
9 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Dodge City
1 dog park without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Peaks in Dodge City
Boot Hill2,510 ft elevation
DirectionsDisc golf in Dodge City
Chilton Park Disc GolfIn Chilton Park
DirectionsBiking & sports
4.4 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
4.4 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
40Golf
20Baseball
13Basketball
13Tennis
5Football
2Soccer
2Beach volleyball
1Equestrian
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →10 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Mueller-Schmidt HouseBuilding · listed 1972
About itDodge City Public LibraryBuilding · listed 1979
About itSacred Heart CathedralBuilding · listed 1983
About itLora Locke HotelBuilding · listed 1985
About itAtchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway DepotBuilding · listed 2000
About itHennessy Hall, Saint Mary of the Plains CampusBuilding · listed 2004
About itBurr HouseBuilding · listed 2008
About itDodge City Downtown Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2009
About itDodge City Municipal BuildingBuilding · listed 2013
About itMulberry Creek Truss BridgeStructure · listed 2026
About itWhen to get out
April is the best month for walking in Dodge City
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) | 9.8 | 10.7 | 11.8 | 13.1 | 14.2 | 14.8 | 14.5 | 13.6 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.1 | 9.6 |
| High (°F) | 45 | 49 | 59 | 68 | 78 | 88 | 93 | 91 | 83 | 70 | 57 | 46 |
| Rain (in) | 0.6 | 0.6 | 1.4 | 2.0 | 3.1 | 3.5 | 3.3 | 3.1 | 1.5 | 2.0 | 0.8 | 0.9 |
January is the driest month (0.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 93 °F). 3.5 inches fall in June, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 93 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Dodge City →
Next door
Dodge City 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dodge City | 3% | 0.2 | 10 | 94% | B− |
| Dodge Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Richland Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Grandview Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Dodge City
Where can I hike in Dodge City?
The longest trail networks: Thurow Park, 0.9 miles; Saint Mary of the Plains Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Dodge City 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 Dodge City’s trails?
Thurow Park and Saint Mary of the Plains Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Dodge City?
4.4 miles of bike routes are on the map: 4.4 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Dodge City?
278 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Dodge City or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 280 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Dodge City have?
Ahead of 54% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #64 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 Dodge City 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 →