Gunn Park
Managed by City of Fort Scott
78 acres3 mi of trail
Bleeding KansasThe Dragoon SlayerCuster’s Last Stand
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trailhead
First Presbyterian Church · Photo: Ammodramus · CC0COutdoors
Outdoors in Scott Township
Scott Township has 100 acres of parks, 37 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Gunn Park (3 mi). 4% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 8.2 miles of mapped trail cross Scott Township, 0.1 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 27% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
1%
253 acres · of 68.7 sq mi of land
Trails
8.2 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
100 ac
37 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
4%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
7.8 mi
Lakes & rivers
3
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Scott Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Scott Township is ahead of 27% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
C
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Scott Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land1% of the land · typical KS town 2% · U.S. 4%C−Trails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (8 mi) · KS 0.2 · U.S. 0.4CPark land37 acres of park per 1,000 residents (100 acres) · KS 13 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home4% of residents within a half mile of a park · KS 76% · U.S. 72%D
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 27%
LessMore
Few Kansas towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Scott Township’s 1% is ahead of 27% of Kansas towns, while its trails per square mile lead 33% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C+. 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 Gunn Park, with 3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
253 conserved acres
1% of Scott Township’s land. Who manages Scott Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
USDA easements (NRCS)209 ac
Town or city44 ac
Conservation Easement · 209 acLocal Park · 44 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 209 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gunn Park Local Park | Town or city | 42 | Open |
| Bridal Veil Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
Trails & water
3 named trails and 3 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 3.0 miUnpaved · 3.0 mi
Bleeding Kansas1.4 mi
The Dragoon Slayer0.8 mi
Custer’s Last Stand0.8 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
7.8 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
7.8 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
17Golf
1Baseball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →2 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
When to get out
The walking year in Scott Township
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 | 14.5 | 13.6 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.1 | 9.6 |
| High (°F) | 42 | 48 | 58 | 67 | 76 | 85 | 90 | 89 | 81 | 70 | 57 | 46 |
| Rain (in) | 1.6 | 1.8 | 3.0 | 4.5 | 6.1 | 5.6 | 4.3 | 3.7 | 4.4 | 3.4 | 2.9 | 2.1 |
January is the driest month (1.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 90 °F). 6.1 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 90 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Scott Township →
Next door
Scott Township and its neighbors
Scott Township has the second most mapped trails of the 5 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Richland Township9.6 miScott Township8.2 miCoal Township4.9 miMarmaton Township1.2 miDrywood Township1.1 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scott Township | 1% | 0.1 | 37 | 4% | C |
| Marmaton Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Drywood 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 Scott Township
Where can I hike in Scott Township?
The longest trail networks: Gunn Park, 3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Scott Township 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 Scott Township’s trails?
Gunn Park doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Scott Township?
7.8 miles of bike routes are on the map: 7.8 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Scott Township?
830 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Scott Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 100 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Scott Township have?
Ahead of 27% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade. 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 Scott Township 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 →