Prairie Lake Park
Nature preserve
172 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Jon Barker · CC BY-SA 3.0B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Holton
13% of Holton’s land is conserved, and 99% of residents live within a half mile of a park
250 acres are parks and preserves, 74 per 1,000 residents. 13% of Holton’s land is conserved, about 232 acres.
Ahead of 74% of U.S. towns · #30 of 151 in Kansas. What drives it
Conserved land
13%
232 acres · of 2.7 sq mi of land
Trails
0.0 mi
0.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
250 ac
74 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
2
What kind of outdoors town is Holton?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Holton have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Holton is ahead of 74% of U.S. towns, #30 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 Holton’s overall grade.
Conserved land13% of the land · typical KS town 2% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (0 mi) · KS 0.2 · U.S. 0.4DPark land74 acres of park per 1,000 residents (250 acres) · KS 13 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home99% 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 74%
LessMore
Kansas towns of 2,500+ (151)Ahead of 81%
Few Kansas towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Holton’s 13% is ahead of 95% of Kansas towns, while its trails per square mile lead 2% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A+. 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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Rafters Park
Park
15 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Elk Horn Lake Park
Park
11 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Chandler Park
Park
5 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 6 parks & preserves
Prairie Lake Park172 acres
Rafters Park15 acres
Elk Horn Lake Park11 acres
Chandler Park5 acres
Courthouse Park4 acres
Linscott Park2 acres
Who protects it
232 conserved acres
13% of Holton’s land. Who manages Holton’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city229 ac
County3 ac
Local Park · 213 acLocal Recreation Area · 19 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prairie Lake Park Local Park | Town or city | 180 | Open |
| Mcpherson County Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 19 | Open |
| Rafter'S Park Local Park | Town or city | 13 | Open |
| Elk Horn Lake Park Local Park | Town or city | 10 | Open |
| Chandler Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Courthouse Park Local Park | County | 3 | Open |
| Linscott Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
Things to do
5 places to go in Holton
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in Holton
Holton Municipal Swimming PoolIn Rafters Park
DirectionsCampgrounds in Holton
Geremy's PointIn Prairie Lake Park · City of Holtom
DirectionsGod's CountryIn Prairie Lake Park · City of Holtom
DirectionsMain Camp SiteIn Prairie Lake Park · City of Holtom
DirectionsPlus 1 campground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
2 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
2Tennis
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →4 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
When to get out
The walking year in Holton
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 | 9.9 | 9.4 |
| High (°F) | 38 | 43 | 55 | 65 | 75 | 84 | 89 | 87 | 80 | 68 | 53 | 42 |
| Rain (in) | 0.7 | 1.2 | 2.2 | 3.7 | 5.3 | 4.7 | 4.6 | 4.0 | 3.5 | 2.8 | 1.8 | 1.4 |
January is the driest month (0.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 89 °F). 5.3 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 89 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Holton →
Questions about parks and trails in Holton
How much of Holton is conserved land?
13% 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 Holton’s trails?
Prairie Lake Park and Rafters Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Holton?
253 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Holton or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 250 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Holton have?
Ahead of 74% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #30 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 Holton 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 →