Barbourville City Park
Park
26 acres1.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: W.marsh · CC BY-SA 3.0B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Barbourville
Barbourville has 59 acres of parks, 19 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Barbourville City Park (1.1 mi). 2.1 miles of mapped trail cross Barbourville, 0.8 per square mile of land. 81% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 70% of U.S. towns · #23 of 142 in Kentucky. What drives it
Conserved land
3%
46 acres · of 2.7 sq mi of land
Trails
2.1 mi
0.8 per sq mi of land
Park land
59 ac
19 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
81%
of residents within ½ mile
What kind of outdoors town is Barbourville?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Barbourville have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Barbourville is ahead of 70% of U.S. towns, #23 of 142 in Kentucky. Trail miles hold the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Barbourville’s overall grade.
Conserved land3% of the land · typical KY town 2% · U.S. 4%B−Trails0.8 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (2 mi) · KY 0.3 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land19 acres of park per 1,000 residents (59 acres) · KY 8 · U.S. 13BParks close to home81% of residents within a half mile of a park · KY 59% · U.S. 72%B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 70%
LessMore
Kentucky towns of 2,500+ (142)Ahead of 84%
Few Kentucky towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Barbourville’s 3% is ahead of 73% of Kentucky towns, while its trails per square mile lead 87% of 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
The longest trail network is Barbourville City Park, with 1.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Thompson Park
Park
12 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Who protects it
46 conserved acres
3% of Barbourville’s land. Who manages Barbourville’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city46 ac
Local Park · 46 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barbourville City Park Local Park | Town or city | 27 | Open |
| Applegrove Park Local Park | Town or city | 12 | Open |
| Thompson Park Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Open |
| Walnut Street Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
Things to do
8 places to go in Barbourville
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Barbourville
7 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Barbourville
1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
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
15Tennis
6Baseball
3Basketball
2Football
2Soccer
1Multi-sport
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →5 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Old Classroom Building, Union CollegeBuilding · listed 1975
About itSpeed HallBuilding · listed 1982
About itMitchell Building-First State Bank BuildingBuilding · listed 1984
About itSoldiers and Sailors Memorial GymnasiumBuilding · listed 1984
About itBarbourville Commercial DistrictDistrict · listed 1984
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Barbourville: April to June and August
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 | 14.1 | 14.7 | 14.4 | 13.6 | 12.4 | 11.2 | 10.1 | 9.6 |
| High (°F) | 45 | 50 | 59 | 70 | 77 | 84 | 87 | 86 | 81 | 70 | 58 | 49 |
| Rain (in) | 4.3 | 4.4 | 5.0 | 4.7 | 4.6 | 5.0 | 5.4 | 3.9 | 3.4 | 3.0 | 3.6 | 5.1 |
October is the driest month (3.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 87 °F). 5.4 inches fall in July, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 87 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Barbourville →
Questions about parks and trails in Barbourville
Where can I hike in Barbourville?
The longest trail networks: Barbourville City Park, 1.1 miles; Thompson Park, 0.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Barbourville is conserved land?
3% of its land, against a typical 2% for a Kentucky town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Barbourville’s trails?
Barbourville City Park and Thompson Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Barbourville?
5,091 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Barbourville or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 59 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Barbourville have?
Ahead of 70% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #23 of 142 in Kentucky. 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 Barbourville 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 →