Meade State Park
Managed by Kansas Department of Wildlife & Parks
1,130 acres2.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
C+Outdoors
Outdoors in West Plains Township
West Plains Township has 1,147 acres of parks, 947 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Meade State Park (2.3 mi). 1% of West Plains Township’s land is conserved, about 1,293 acres. 26 miles of mapped trail cross West Plains Township, 0.2 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 41% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
1%
1,293 acres · of 134.2 sq mi of land
Trails
26 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,147 ac
947 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
under 1%
of residents within ½ mile
What kind of outdoors town is West Plains Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does West Plains Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, West Plains Township is ahead of 41% 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 West Plains Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land1% of the land · typical KS town 2% · U.S. 4%C+Trails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (26 mi) · KS 0.2 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land947 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,147 acres) · KS 13 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home0% 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 41%
LessMore
Few Kansas towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so West Plains Township’s 1% is ahead of 40% of Kansas towns, while its trails per square mile lead 46% 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 Meade State Park, with 2.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Meade Wildlife Area
Managed by Kansas Department of Wildlife & Parks
792 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Who protects it
1,293 conserved acres
1% of West Plains Township’s land. Who manages West Plains Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State fish & wildlife812 ac
Other state land323 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)158 ac
State Conservation Area · 812 acState Park · 323 acConservation Easement · 158 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 158 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meade Wildlife Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 812 | Restricted |
| Meade State Park State Park | Other state land | 323 | Open |
Things to do
7 places to go in West Plains Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in West Plains Township
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in West Plains Township
1 playground without a name on the map.
Campgrounds in West Plains Township
Meade State Park Boy Scout CampgroundIn Meade State Park
DirectionsMeade State Park Cedar CampgroundIn Meade State Park
DirectionsMeade State Park Larrabee Lane West CampgroundIn Meade State Park
DirectionsMeade State Park Sagebrush CampgroundIn Meade State Park
DirectionsDisc golf in West Plains Township
1 disc golf course without a name on the map.
Trails & water
1 named trail
Named trails
Unpaved · 5.1 mi
County Road South1.0 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
2Baseball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
April is the best month for walking in West Plains 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) | 9.9 | 10.8 | 11.9 | 13.1 | 14.2 | 14.7 | 14.5 | 13.6 | 12.4 | 11.2 | 10.1 | 9.6 |
| High (°F) | 47 | 51 | 61 | 69 | 79 | 89 | 93 | 91 | 84 | 71 | 58 | 47 |
| Rain (in) | 0.6 | 0.5 | 1.3 | 1.9 | 2.8 | 3.4 | 3.1 | 2.8 | 1.5 | 1.8 | 0.7 | 0.9 |
February is the driest month (0.5 in) and July the warmest (highs of 93 °F). 3.4 inches fall in June, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 93 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in West Plains Township →
Next door
West Plains Township 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Plains Township | 1% | 0.2 | 947 | under 1% | C+ |
| Mertilla Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Cimarron Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Meade Center Township | under 1% | 0.3 | 68 | under 1% | C |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in West Plains Township
Where can I hike in West Plains Township?
The longest trail networks: Meade State Park, 2.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of West Plains 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 West Plains Township’s trails?
Meade State Park and Meade Wildlife Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near West Plains Township?
3,953 acres of parks and open public land lie inside West Plains Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,147 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does West Plains Township have?
Ahead of 41% 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 West Plains 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 →