Benton City Park
Managed by City of Benton
47 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Tennessee Valley Authority · Public domainCOutdoors
Outdoors in Benton
Benton has 59 acres of parks, 12 for every 1,000 residents
0.2 miles of mapped trail cross Benton. 2% of Benton’s land is conserved, about 64 acres. 40% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 28% of U.S. towns · #94 of 142 in Kentucky. What drives it
Conserved land
2%
64 acres · of 5.1 sq mi of land
Trails
0.2 mi
0.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
59 ac
12 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
40%
of residents within ½ mile
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Benton have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Benton is ahead of 28% of U.S. towns, #94 of 142 in Kentucky. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
C
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Benton’s overall grade.
Conserved land2% of the land · typical KY town 2% · U.S. 4%C+Trails0.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (0 mi) · KY 0.3 · U.S. 0.4C−Park land12 acres of park per 1,000 residents (59 acres) · KY 8 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to home40% of residents within a half mile of a park · KY 59% · U.S. 72%C
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 28%
LessMore
Kentucky towns of 2,500+ (142)Ahead of 34%
Few Kentucky towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Benton’s 2% is ahead of 61% of Kentucky towns, while its trails per square mile lead 21% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C− 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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Clarks River National Wildlife Refuge
Nature preserve
6 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
64 conserved acres
2% of Benton’s land. Who manages Benton’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city56 ac
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service13 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits1 ac
Local Park · 56 acNational Wildlife Refuge · 13 acPrivate Conservation · 1 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Benton City Park Local Park | Town or city | 47 | Open |
| Clarks River National Wildlife Refuge National Wildlife Refuge | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 13 | Restricted |
| Benton City Soccer Field Local Park | Town or city | 9 | Open |
| Marshall County Preserve 03 Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 1 | Closed |
Things to do
2 places to go in Benton
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Benton
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
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
6Soccer
5Baseball
3Pickleball
2Basketball
1Equestrian
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
June is the best month for walking in Benton
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 | 49 | 59 | 70 | 78 | 86 | 89 | 88 | 82 | 71 | 58 | 48 |
| Rain (in) | 3.9 | 4.2 | 4.8 | 5.0 | 5.2 | 4.6 | 4.2 | 3.0 | 3.6 | 3.6 | 4.2 | 4.7 |
August is the driest month (3.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 89 °F). 5.2 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 89 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Benton →
Questions about parks and trails in Benton
How much of Benton is conserved land?
2% 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 Benton’s trails?
Benton City Park and Clarks River National Wildlife Refuge don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Benton?
4,902 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Benton or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 59 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Benton have?
Ahead of 28% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #94 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 Benton 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 →