Riverside Park and Zoo
Park
61 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: 25or6to4 · CC BY-SA 4.0C+Outdoors
Outdoors in Independence
Independence has 147 acres of parks, 17 for every 1,000 residents
0.1 miles of mapped trail cross Independence. 59% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 3% of Independence’s land is conserved, about 137 acres.
Ahead of 37% of U.S. towns · #102 of 151 in Kansas. What drives it
Conserved land
3%
137 acres · of 7.5 sq mi of land
Trails
0.1 mi
0.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
147 ac
17 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
59%
of residents within ½ mile
What kind of outdoors town is Independence?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Independence have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Independence is ahead of 37% of U.S. towns, #102 of 151 in Kansas. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
C+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Independence’s overall grade.
Conserved land3% of the land · typical KS town 2% · U.S. 4%B−Trails0.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (0 mi) · KS 0.2 · U.S. 0.4DPark land17 acres of park per 1,000 residents (147 acres) · KS 13 · U.S. 13BParks close to home59% 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 37%
LessMore
Kansas towns of 2,500+ (151)Ahead of 33%
Few Kansas towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Independence’s 3% is ahead of 64% of Kansas towns, while its trails per square mile lead 9% 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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Independence Dog Park
Park
9 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
South 10th Street Park
Park
1 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Robert Augustus Wesley Memorial Park
Park
1 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
137 conserved acres
3% of Independence’s land. Who manages Independence’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city137 ac
Local Park · 132 acLocal Recreation Area · 5 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Riverside Park Local Park | Town or city | 116 | Open |
| Independence Park Local Park | Town or city | 15 | Open |
| Sports Complex Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 5 | Open |
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
6Baseball
6Tennis
1Skate park
1Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →14 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Booth HotelBuilding · listed 1983
About itIndependence Public Carnegie LibraryBuilding · listed 1988
About itBooth TheaterBuilding · listed 1988
About itUnion Implement and Hardware Building-Masonic TempleBuilding · listed 1988
About itFederal Building-US Post OfficeBuilding · listed 1988
About itBlakeslee Motor Company BuildingBuilding · listed 1989
About itMemorial HallBuilding · listed 2005
About itCook's HotelBuilding · listed 2006
About itIndependence Downtown Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2006
About itIndependence Junior High SchoolBuilding · listed 2009
About itFirst Congregational ChurchBuilding · listed 2014
About itWashington SchoolBuilding · listed 2015
About it2 more on the History page.
When to get out
April is the best month for walking in Independence
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) | 45 | 50 | 60 | 69 | 77 | 86 | 91 | 91 | 83 | 71 | 59 | 48 |
| Rain (in) | 1.4 | 1.7 | 2.8 | 4.4 | 6.4 | 5.6 | 4.2 | 4.2 | 4.1 | 3.7 | 2.4 | 1.9 |
January is the driest month (1.4 in) and July the warmest (highs of 91 °F). 6.4 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 91 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Independence →
Next door
Independence 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independence | 3% | under 0.1 | 17 | 59% | C+ |
| Independence Township | 2% | 0.1 | 241 | 11% | C+ |
| Sycamore Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Drum Creek 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 Independence
How much of Independence 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 Independence’s trails?
Riverside Park and Zoo and Independence Dog Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Independence?
1,615 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Independence or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 147 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Independence have?
Ahead of 37% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #102 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 Independence 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 →