Newton Medical Center
Park
14 acres0.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Erinmcd · CC BY 2.5B−Outdoors
Outdoors in Newton
Newton has 7.4 miles of mapped trails, 0.5 for every square mile of land
1% of Newton’s land is conserved, about 139 acres. 77% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 167 acres are parks and preserves, 9.1 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 50% of U.S. towns · #75 of 151 in Kansas. What drives it
Conserved land
1%
139 acres · of 14.8 sq mi of land
Trails
7.4 mi
0.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
167 ac
9.1 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
77%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.8 mi
1.8 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Newton?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Newton have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Newton is ahead of 50% of U.S. towns, #75 of 151 in Kansas. Trail miles hold the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
B−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Newton’s overall grade.
Conserved land1% of the land · typical KS town 2% · U.S. 4%C+Trails0.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (7 mi) · KS 0.2 · U.S. 0.4BPark land9.1 acres of park per 1,000 residents (167 acres) · KS 13 · U.S. 13C+Parks close to home77% 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 50%
LessMore
Kansas towns of 2,500+ (151)Ahead of 51%
Few Kansas towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Newton’s 1% is ahead of 41% of Kansas towns, while its trails per square mile lead 69% 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 Newton Medical Center, with 0.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Newton Atheletic Park
Park
37 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Washington Park
Park
6 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 11 parks & preserves
Newton Medical Center14 acres · 0.5 mi of trail
Centennial Park46 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsMilitary Park4 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsNewton Atheletic Park37 acres
Washington Park6 acres
Ash Park4 acres
Themian Park4 acres
DirectionsRailroad Park2 acres
DirectionsCaperland Park2 acres
Girls Scout House2 acres
Havens Park2 acres
Who protects it
139 conserved acres
1% of Newton’s land. Who manages Newton’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city139 ac
Local Park · 139 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Centennial Park Local Park | Town or city | 73 | Open |
| Athletic Park Local Park | Town or city | 30 | Open |
| Washington Park Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Open |
| Military Park Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Open |
| Themian Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Ash Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Roosevelt Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Plumbrook Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Quail Creek Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Caperland Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
5 places to go in Newton
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Newton
3 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Newton
2 dog parks without a name on the map.
Trails & water
1 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
1.8 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.8 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
13Baseball
7Tennis
3Football
1Skate park
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →15 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.
Warkentin HouseBuilding · listed 1970
About itWarkentin MillBuilding · listed 1970
About itCarnegie LibraryBuilding · listed 1974
About itJairus Neal HouseBuilding · listed 1982
About itOld Railroad Savings and Loan BuildingBuilding · listed 1982
About itSanta Fe DepotBuilding · listed 1985
About itSamuel A. Brown HouseBuilding · listed 1988
About itMennonite Settler StatueObject · listed 1998
About itColeman HouseBuilding · listed 2001
About itE.H. Hoag HouseBuilding · listed 2001
About itNewton Main Street Historic District IIDistrict · listed 2003
About itNewton Main Street Historic District IDistrict · listed 2003
About it3 more on the History page.
When to get out
April is the best month for walking in Newton
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 | 87 | 92 | 90 | 82 | 70 | 56 | 45 |
| Rain (in) | 0.8 | 1.3 | 2.3 | 3.0 | 5.2 | 5.1 | 4.3 | 4.0 | 2.9 | 2.7 | 1.6 | 1.2 |
January is the driest month (0.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 92 °F). 5.2 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 92 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Newton →
Next door
Newton and its neighbors
Newton has the most mapped trails of the 5 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Newton | 1% | 0.5 | 9 | 77% | B− |
| Newton Township | under 1% | 0.2 | 23 | 85% | C+ |
| Darlington Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| North Newton | 3% | 3.7 | 16 | 99%+ | A |
| Sedgwick 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 Newton
Where can I hike in Newton?
The longest trail networks: Newton Medical Center, 0.5 miles; Centennial Park, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Newton is conserved land?
1% 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 Newton’s trails?
Newton Medical Center and Centennial Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Newton?
1.8 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.8 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Newton?
1,929 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Newton or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 167 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Newton have?
Ahead of 50% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #75 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 Newton 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 →