Veteran's Memorial Park
Park
46 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Paul Sableman · CC BY 2.0C+Outdoors
Outdoors in Great Bend
Great Bend has 180 acres of parks, 12 for every 1,000 residents
0.7 miles of mapped trail cross Great Bend, 0.1 per square mile of land. 70% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 3% of Great Bend’s land is conserved, about 177 acres.
Ahead of 40% of U.S. towns · #96 of 151 in Kansas. What drives it
Conserved land
3%
177 acres · of 10.5 sq mi of land
Trails
0.7 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
180 ac
12 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
70%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
5.2 mi
5.2 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
4
What kind of outdoors town is Great Bend?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Great Bend have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Great Bend is ahead of 40% of U.S. towns, #96 of 151 in Kansas. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
C+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Great Bend’s overall grade.
Conserved land3% of the land · typical KS town 2% · U.S. 4%B−Trails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · KS 0.2 · U.S. 0.4CPark land12 acres of park per 1,000 residents (180 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 40%
LessMore
Kansas towns of 2,500+ (151)Ahead of 37%
Few Kansas towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Great Bend’s 3% is ahead of 59% of Kansas towns, while its trails per square mile lead 23% 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 Veteran's Memorial Park, with 0.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Brit Spaugh Park
Park
44 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 6 parks & preserves
Veteran's Memorial Park46 acres · 0.4 mi of trail
DirectionsBrit Spaugh Park44 acres
Heizer Park3 acres
DirectionsEisenhower Park3 acres
DirectionsBreaking the Sod Park3 acres
Bypass Park1 acres
Who protects it
177 conserved acres
3% of Great Bend’s land. Who manages Great Bend’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city177 ac
Local Park · 177 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Veterans Memorial Park Local Park | Town or city | 75 | Open |
| Brit Spaugh Park Local Park | Town or city | 47 | Open |
| Langrehr Park Local Park | Town or city | 38 | Open |
| Harms Ball Park Local Park | Town or city | 10 | Open |
| Heizer Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Eisenhower Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
Things to do
10 places to go in Great Bend
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Great Bend
Musical instrumentsIn Veteran's Memorial Park
DirectionsPlus 8 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Great Bend
Great Bend Dog ParkIn Veteran's Memorial Park
DirectionsTrails & water
4 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
5.2 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
5.2 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
17Baseball
10Tennis
4Soccer
3Pickleball
3Basketball
2Volleyball
1Beach volleyball
1Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →8 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Abel HouseBuilding · listed 2001
About itNagel HouseBuilding · listed 2001
About itCrest TheaterBuilding · listed 2005
About itGreat Bend Army Air Field HangarBuilding · listed 2015
About itNorden Bombsight Storage VaultsStructure · listed 2015
About itAllen, A.S., BuildingsBuilding · listed 2018
About itHigh Rise ApartmentsBuilding · listed 2020
About itGreat Bend Central Business DistrictDistrict · listed 2022
About itWhen to get out
April is the best month for walking in Great Bend
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 | 14.6 | 13.6 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.0 | 9.5 |
| High (°F) | 43 | 47 | 58 | 67 | 76 | 87 | 92 | 90 | 82 | 69 | 56 | 44 |
| Rain (in) | 0.7 | 0.9 | 1.6 | 2.0 | 4.3 | 3.6 | 3.8 | 3.6 | 2.1 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
January is the driest month (0.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 92 °F). 4.3 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 92 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Great Bend →
Next door
Great Bend and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Liberty Township3.9 miSouth Bend Township3.3 miBuffalo Township2.8 miComanche Township1.8 miGreat Bend Township1.2 miGreat Bend0.7 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Great Bend | 3% | 0.1 | 12 | 70% | C+ |
| Great Bend Township | under 1% | under 0.1 | 6 | 12% | D |
| South Bend Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Liberty Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Buffalo Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Comanche 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 Great Bend
Where can I hike in Great Bend?
The longest trail networks: Veteran's Memorial Park, 0.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Great Bend 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 Great Bend’s trails?
Veteran's Memorial Park and Brit Spaugh Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Great Bend?
5.2 miles of bike routes are on the map: 5.2 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Great Bend?
254 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Great Bend or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 180 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Great Bend have?
Ahead of 40% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #96 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 Great Bend 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 →