Lake Miola Park
Managed by City of Paola
494 acres8 mi of trail
Miola Lake - East TrailMiola Lake - West TrailMiola Lake - South Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: Ichabod · CC BY-SA 3.0A+Outdoors
Outdoors in Paola
Paola has 9.2 miles of mapped trails, 1.7 for every square mile of land
599 acres are parks and preserves, 104 per 1,000 residents. 16% of Paola’s land is conserved, about 529 acres. 94% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 97% of U.S. towns · #2 of 151 in Kansas. What drives it
Conserved land
16%
529 acres · of 5.3 sq mi of land
Trails
9.2 mi
1.7 per sq mi of land
Park land
599 ac
104 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
94%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
4.1 mi
1.1 mi lanes · 3.0 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
2
1 beach · 2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Paola?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
A trail town1.7 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, more than 91% of U.S. towns.Room to roam104 acres of park per 1,000 residents; the typical U.S. town has 13.Land that stays wild16% of the land is conserved; a typical Kansas town, 2%.History along the way6 places on the National Register.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Paola have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Paola is ahead of 97% of U.S. towns, #2 of 151 in Kansas. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; trail miles rank highest, the share of residents near a park lowest.
A+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Paola’s overall grade.
Conserved land16% of the land · typical KS town 2% · U.S. 4%ATrails1.7 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (9 mi) · KS 0.2 · U.S. 0.4APark land104 acres of park per 1,000 residents (599 acres) · KS 13 · U.S. 13AParks close to home94% of residents within a half mile of a park · KS 76% · U.S. 72%A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 97%
LessMore
Kansas towns of 2,500+ (151)#2 of 151
Few Kansas towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Paola’s 16% is ahead of 97% of Kansas towns, while its trails per square mile lead 97% of them.
Water is 7% of Paola’s area (0 of 6 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 14%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would still be 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
The longest trail network is Lake Miola Park, with 8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
All 6 parks & preserves
Lake Miola Park494 acres · 8 mi of trail · City of Paola
DirectionsWidiker Park2 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsWallace Park69 acres · City of Paola
DirectionsPaola Park Square2 acres
DirectionsPetroleus Park1 acres · City of Paola
Veterans Memorial Park1 acres · City of Paola
DirectionsWho protects it
529 conserved acres
16% of Paola’s land. Water is left out: Paola has 5.3 square miles of land and 0.4 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Paola’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city529 ac
Local Park · 529 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Miola Park Local Park | Town or city | 469 | Open |
| Wallace Park Local Park | Town or city | 56 | Open |
| Park Square Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Whitaker Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
22 places to go in Paola
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Paola
Miola BeachIn Lake Miola Park
DirectionsPublic pools in Paola
Paola Family PoolIn Wallace Park
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Paola
Pirate Ship PlaygroundIn Lake Miola Park
DirectionsPlus 13 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Paola
Paola Dog ParkIn Lake Miola Park
DirectionsBoat launches in Paola
2 boat launches without a name on the map.
Campgrounds in Paola
Lake Miola Lower CampgroundFee · In Lake Miola Park · City of Paola
DirectionsLake Miola Upper CampgroundFee · In Lake Miola Park · City of Paola
DirectionsCommunity gardens in Paola
Paola Community Garden
DirectionsTrails & water
4 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 7.9 miUnpaved · 8.7 mi
Miola Lake - East Trail3.2 mi
Miola Lake - West Trail2.9 mi
Miola Lake - South Trail1.7 mi
OWLS Trail0.5 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
4.1 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.1 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
3.0 mi
off-road bike paths
Paola PathwaysBike route
8.1 miCourts & fields
15Baseball
5Football
4Basketball
3Tennis
2Beach volleyball
1Skate park
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →6 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 5 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Miami County CourthouseBuilding · listed 1973
About itJackson HotelBuilding · listed 2008
About itMiami County Mercantile CompanyBuilding · listed 2021
About itUrsuline Academy - AuditoriumBuilding · listed 2025
About itFowler and Baehr BuildingsBuilding · listed 2025
About itFirst Presbyterian Church of PaolaBuilding · listed 2025
About itWhen to get out
April is the best month for walking in Paola
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 | 14.8 | 14.6 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.0 | 9.5 |
| High (°F) | 40 | 46 | 56 | 66 | 76 | 85 | 89 | 88 | 80 | 69 | 55 | 44 |
| Rain (in) | 1.2 | 1.6 | 2.5 | 4.1 | 5.7 | 5.2 | 4.1 | 3.9 | 4.2 | 3.4 | 2.3 | 1.8 |
January is the driest month (1.2 in) and July the warmest (highs of 89 °F). 5.7 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 89 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Paola →
Next door
Paola and its neighbors
Paola has the second most mapped trails of the 3 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paola | 16% | 1.7 | 104 | 94% | A+ |
| Paola Township | under 1% | under 0.1 | 30 | 21% | C− |
| Marysville Township | 19% | 0.6 | 121 | 1% | B+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Paola
Where can I hike in Paola?
The longest trail networks: Lake Miola Park, 8 miles; Widiker Park, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Paola is conserved land?
16% 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 Paola’s trails?
Lake Miola Park and Wallace Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Paola?
4.1 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.1 of painted or protected lanes and 3.0 of off-road paths. Named routes: Paola Pathways.
Is there public land near Paola?
10,283 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Paola or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 599 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Paola have?
Ahead of 97% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #2 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 Paola 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 →