Elmwood Park
Park
56 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Smallbones · Public domainA−Outdoors
Outdoors in Norton
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park in Norton
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park. 73 acres are parks and preserves, 27 per 1,000 residents. 5% of Norton’s land is conserved, about 59 acres.
Ahead of 79% of U.S. towns · #19 of 151 in Kansas. What drives it
Conserved land
5%
59 acres · of 1.9 sq mi of land
Trails
0.6 mi
0.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
73 ac
27 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
What kind of outdoors town is Norton?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Norton have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Norton is ahead of 79% of U.S. towns, #19 of 151 in Kansas. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of residents near a park ranks highest, trail miles lowest.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Norton’s overall grade.
Conserved land5% of the land · typical KS town 2% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · KS 0.2 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land27 acres of park per 1,000 residents (73 acres) · KS 13 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to homeVirtually all residents within a half mile of a park · KS 76% · U.S. 72%A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 79%
LessMore
Kansas towns of 2,500+ (151)Ahead of 88%
Few Kansas towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Norton’s 5% is ahead of 84% of Kansas towns, while its trails per square mile lead 58% of them.
NoteFew parks or trails are mapped in Norton. OpenStreetMap is mapped by volunteers and coverage varies from town to town, so a town with unmapped parks scores low on 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.
Who protects it
59 conserved acres
5% of Norton’s land. Who manages Norton’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city58 ac
Local Park · 52 acLocal Recreation Area · 6 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elmwood Park Local Park | Town or city | 47 | Open |
| Pool Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| Roadside Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Tweed Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
Things to do
5 places to go in Norton
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in Norton
Norton Aquatic Center
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Norton
4 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
1 named trail
Named trails
Unpaved · 0.6 mi
Former NKCR RR0.4 mi
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
3Tennis
1Basketball
1Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 2 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Norton Downtown Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2011
About itWhen to get out
April is the best month for walking in Norton
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) | 9.6 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 13.2 | 14.4 | 15.0 | 14.7 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 9.9 | 9.4 |
| High (°F) | 41 | 45 | 57 | 66 | 75 | 87 | 91 | 89 | 81 | 68 | 54 | 43 |
| Rain (in) | 0.5 | 0.6 | 1.2 | 2.1 | 3.6 | 3.1 | 3.7 | 3.2 | 1.9 | 1.9 | 0.9 | 0.7 |
January is the driest month (0.5 in) and July the warmest (highs of 91 °F). 3.7 inches fall in July, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 91 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Norton →
Questions about parks and trails in Norton
How much of Norton is conserved land?
5% 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 Norton’s trails?
Elmwood Park doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Norton?
1,792 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Norton or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 73 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Norton have?
Ahead of 79% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #19 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 Norton 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 →