Rivers Banks Orchard Park
Park
57 acres1.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0BOutdoors
Outdoors in Hutchinson
Hutchinson has 840 acres of parks, 21 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Rivers Banks Orchard Park (1.4 mi), Dillon Nature Center (1.2 mi), Carey Park (1.1 mi). 11 miles of mapped trail cross Hutchinson, 0.4 per square mile of land. 70% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 63% of U.S. towns · #46 of 151 in Kansas. What drives it
Conserved land
4%
591 acres · of 25.4 sq mi of land
Trails
11 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
840 ac
21 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
70%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
15 mi
2.2 mi lanes · 12 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
5
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Hutchinson have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Hutchinson is ahead of 63% of U.S. towns, #46 of 151 in Kansas. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; park acres per resident rank highest, conserved land lowest.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Hutchinson’s overall grade.
Conserved land4% of the land · typical KS town 2% · U.S. 4%B−Trails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (11 mi) · KS 0.2 · U.S. 0.4BPark land21 acres of park per 1,000 residents (840 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 63%
LessMore
Kansas towns of 2,500+ (151)Ahead of 70%
Few Kansas towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Hutchinson’s 4% is ahead of 73% of Kansas towns, while its trails per square mile lead 65% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B 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 Rivers Banks Orchard Park, with 1.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Kansas State Fairgrounds
Park
184 acres0.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 25 parks & preserves
Rivers Banks Orchard Park57 acres · 1.4 mi of trail
DirectionsDillon Nature Center26 acres · 1.2 mi of trail
DirectionsCarey Park243 acres · 1.1 mi of trail
DirectionsKansas State Fairgrounds184 acres · 0.5 mi of trail
DirectionsVic Goering Park8 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
Farmington Park11 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Countryside Park11 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Rice Park39 acres
DirectionsFairgrounds Park24 acres
Shadduck Park10 acres
Grandview Park10 acres
Centennial Park7 acres
Harsha Memorial Park7 acres
Animal Shelter and Dog Park4 acres
Elmdale Park4 acres
DirectionsMartin Johnson Park3 acres
George Pyle Park3 acres
DirectionsSouthwest Bricktown Park3 acres
Herman & Helen Bunte Park2 acres
Avenue A Park1 acres
DirectionsHyde Park1 acres
Cresent Park1 acres
Garden Grove Park1 acres
Bernard White Park1 acres
DCI Park1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
591 conserved acres
4% of Hutchinson’s land. Who manages Hutchinson’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city566 ac
Other state land24 ac
Local Park · 539 acLocal Conservation Area · 27 acState Park · 24 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carey Park Local Park | Town or city | 354 | Open |
| Rivers Banks Orchard Park Local Park | Town or city | 58 | Open |
| Rice Park Local Park | Town or city | 48 | Open |
| Dillon Nature Center Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 27 | Open |
| Fairgrounds Park State Park | Other state land | 24 | Open |
| Farmington Park Local Park | Town or city | 11 | Open |
| Shadduck Park & Community Center Local Park | Town or city | 11 | Open |
| Harsha Memorial Park Local Park | Town or city | 9 | Open |
| Centennial Park Local Park | Town or city | 9 | Open |
| Countryside Park Local Park | Town or city | 7 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
17 places to go in Hutchinson
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Hutchinson
River Banks Orchard Park PlaygroundIn Rivers Banks Orchard Park
DirectionsPlus 15 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Hutchinson
1 dog park without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
5 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
15 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
2.2 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
12 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
27Baseball
27Tennis
12Basketball
4Football
3Soccer
2Pickleball
1Skate park
1Beach volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →18 places 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.
Terminal StationBuilding · listed 1983
About itReno County CourthouseBuilding · listed 1987
About itHutchinson Public Carnegie LibraryBuilding · listed 1987
About itFox TheaterBuilding · listed 1989
About itUS Post Office-HutchinsonBuilding · listed 1989
About itJohn P. O. Graber HouseBuilding · listed 1994
About itSt. Theresa's Catholic ChurchBuilding · listed 1994
About itFrank D. Wolcott HouseBuilding · listed 1994
About itSoldiers and Sailors MemorialObject · listed 2002
About itDowntown Core North Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2004
About itDowntown Core South Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2004
About itHouston Whiteside Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2004
About it6 more on the History page.
When to get out
April is the best month for walking in Hutchinson
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 | 10.1 | 9.5 |
| High (°F) | 43 | 48 | 58 | 68 | 77 | 88 | 93 | 91 | 83 | 70 | 56 | 45 |
| Rain (in) | 0.8 | 1.1 | 2.2 | 2.6 | 4.9 | 4.4 | 3.8 | 3.7 | 2.4 | 2.5 | 1.4 | 1.1 |
January is the driest month (0.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 93 °F). 4.9 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 93 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Hutchinson →
Next door
Hutchinson and its neighbors
Hutchinson has the most mapped trails of the 4 towns around it. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hutchinson | 4% | 0.4 | 21 | 70% | B |
| Clay Township | under 1% | 0.2 | 59 | 10% | C |
| Reno Township | under 1% | 0.2 | 34 | 40% | C+ |
| Yoder 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 Hutchinson
Where can I hike in Hutchinson?
The longest trail networks: Rivers Banks Orchard Park, 1.4 miles; Dillon Nature Center, 1.2 miles; Carey Park, 1.1 miles; Kansas State Fairgrounds, 0.5 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Hutchinson is conserved land?
4% 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 Hutchinson’s trails?
Rivers Banks Orchard Park and Dillon Nature Center don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Hutchinson?
15 miles of bike routes are on the map: 2.2 of painted or protected lanes and 12 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Hutchinson?
2,567 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Hutchinson or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 840 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Hutchinson have?
Ahead of 63% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #46 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 Hutchinson 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 →