South Park
Park
85 acres1.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
George T Brown House · Photo: SharonPapierdreams · CC BY-SA 4.0BOutdoors
Outdoors in Junction City
Junction City has 277 acres of parks, 12 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: South Park (1.2 mi), The Bluffs Park (0.8 mi), The Wetlands Park (0.5 mi). 80% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 4% of Junction City’s land is conserved, about 276 acres.
Ahead of 58% of U.S. towns · #56 of 151 in Kansas. What drives it
Conserved land
4%
276 acres · of 11.5 sq mi of land
Trails
3.7 mi
0.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
277 ac
12 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
80%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.5 mi
0.5 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Junction City have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Junction City is ahead of 58% of U.S. towns, #56 of 151 in Kansas. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of residents near a park ranks highest, park acres per resident lowest.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Junction City’s overall grade.
Conserved land4% of the land · typical KS town 2% · U.S. 4%B−Trails0.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (4 mi) · KS 0.2 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land12 acres of park per 1,000 residents (277 acres) · KS 13 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to home80% 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 58%
LessMore
Kansas towns of 2,500+ (151)Ahead of 63%
Few Kansas towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Junction City’s 4% is ahead of 75% of Kansas towns, while its trails per square mile lead 59% 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 South Park, with 1.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
The Bluffs Park
Park
35 acres0.8 mi of trail
Bluffs Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Heritage Park
Park
3 acres0.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 16 parks & preserves
South Park85 acres · 1.2 mi of trail
The Bluffs Park35 acres · 0.8 mi of trail
The Wetlands Park11 acres · 0.5 mi of trail
DirectionsHeritage Park3 acres · 0.5 mi of trail
Playground Park13 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsNorth Park32 acres
Rimrock Park21 acres
Sertoma Park11 acres
Cleary Park9 acres
DirectionsRathert Stadium4 acres
DirectionsFilby Park4 acres
Coronado Park3 acres
Pawnee Park2 acres
Montgomery Plaza2 acres
Hammond Family Park1 acres
DirectionsMartin Luther King Jr Park1 acres
Who protects it
276 conserved acres
4% of Junction City’s land. Who manages Junction City’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city265 ac
Army Corps of Engineers11 ac
Local Park · 265 acRecreation Management Area · 11 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Park Local Park | Town or city | 105 | Open |
| The Bluffs Park Local Park | Town or city | 33 | Open |
| North Park Local Park | Town or city | 30 | Open |
| Rimrock Park Local Park | Town or city | 21 | Open |
| Playground Park Local Park | Town or city | 15 | Open |
| The Wetlands Park Local Park | Town or city | 13 | Open |
| Milford Recreation Area Recreation Management Area | Army Corps of Engineers | 11 | Open |
| Sertoma Park Local Park | Town or city | 11 | Open |
| Cleary Park Local Park | Town or city | 9 | Open |
| Filby Park Local Park | Town or city | 7 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
4 places to go in Junction City
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Junction City
3 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Campgrounds in Junction City
Owls Nest Campground
DirectionsTrails & water
1 named trail and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 1.0 mi
Bluffs Trail0.3 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.5 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.5 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
14Tennis
12Baseball
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). The map also marks 6 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Christian Wetzel CabinBuilding · listed 1973
About itBartell HouseBuilding · listed 1980
About itOld Junction City High SchoolBuilding · listed 1981
About itJunction City Downtown Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2006
About itGeorge T Brown HouseBuilding · listed 2006
About itJackson-McConnell HouseBuilding · listed 2012
About itGrand Army of the Republic (GAR) Memorial ArchStructure · listed 2017
About itFirst Presbyterian Church of Junction CityBuilding · listed 2021
About itWhen to get out
The walking year in Junction 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) | 9.7 | 10.7 | 11.8 | 13.2 | 14.3 | 14.9 | 14.6 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.0 | 9.4 |
| High (°F) | 40 | 46 | 57 | 67 | 76 | 86 | 91 | 89 | 81 | 69 | 55 | 43 |
| Rain (in) | 0.8 | 1.1 | 2.0 | 3.2 | 5.1 | 4.8 | 4.4 | 4.3 | 2.7 | 2.4 | 1.5 | 1.2 |
January is the driest month (0.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 91 °F). 5.1 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 91 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Junction City →
Next door
Junction 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Junction City | 4% | 0.3 | 12 | 80% | B |
| Smoky Hill Township | 27% | 0.4 | 166 | 1% | B+ |
| Jefferson Township | 2% | 0.1 | 14 | 80% | C+ |
| Milford Township | 60% | 0.6 | 1,124 | 44% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Junction City
Where can I hike in Junction City?
The longest trail networks: South Park, 1.2 miles; The Bluffs Park, 0.8 miles; The Wetlands Park, 0.5 miles; Heritage Park, 0.5 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Junction City 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 Junction City’s trails?
South Park and The Bluffs Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Junction City?
0.5 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.5 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Junction City?
16,622 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Junction City or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 288 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Junction City have?
Ahead of 58% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #56 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 Junction 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 →