England-Idlewild Park
Park
219 acres3.9 mi of trail
Serpent's Tail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Public domain · Public domainB+Outdoors
Outdoors in Burlington
Burlington has 457 acres of parks, 25 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: England-Idlewild Park (3.9 mi). 7% of Burlington’s land is conserved, about 381 acres. 5.2 miles of mapped trail cross Burlington, 0.6 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 70% of U.S. towns · #22 of 142 in Kentucky. What drives it
Conserved land
7%
381 acres · of 8.8 sq mi of land
Trails
5.2 mi
0.6 per sq mi of land
Park land
457 ac
25 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
57%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
9.1 mi
9.1 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Burlington have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Burlington is ahead of 70% of U.S. towns, #22 of 142 in Kentucky. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Burlington’s overall grade.
Conserved land7% of the land · typical KY town 2% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.6 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (5 mi) · KY 0.3 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land25 acres of park per 1,000 residents (457 acres) · KY 8 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home57% 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 85%
Few Kentucky towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Burlington’s 7% is ahead of 90% of Kentucky towns, while its trails per square mile lead 77% 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 England-Idlewild Park, with 3.9 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Gunpowder Creek Nature Park
Park
74 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Boone County Fairgrounds
Managed by Boone County Fair
47 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Boone Woods County Park
Managed by Boone County
41 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 7 parks & preserves
England-Idlewild Park219 acres · 3.9 mi of trail
DirectionsGunpowder Creek Nature Park74 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsBoone Woods County Park41 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · Boone County
DirectionsBoone County Fairgrounds47 acres · Boone County Fair
Camp Ernst Lake13 acres
Pete’s Park2 acres
DirectionsBurlington Park1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
381 conserved acres
7% of Burlington’s land. Who manages Burlington’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County371 ac
Other state land9 ac
Local Park · 359 acLocal Conservation Area · 13 acState Conservation Area · 5 acConservation Easement · 4 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 4 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 2 of 7 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| England-Idlewild Park Local Park | County | 214 | Open |
| Gunpowder Creek Nature Park Local Park | County | 74 | Open |
| Camp Ernst Lake Local Park | County | 70 | Open |
| Boone Woods Park Stream Restoration Site Local Conservation Area | County | 13 | Open |
| Burlington Elementary Stream Restoration Site State Conservation Area | Other state land | 5 | Unknown |
| Pete'S Park Local Park | County | 1 | Open |
Things to do
20 places to go in Burlington
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Burlington
19 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Burlington
Boone County Dog Park
DirectionsTrails & water
1 named trail and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Serpent's Tail0.7 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
9.1 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
9.1 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
17Soccer
14Baseball
11Basketball
7Tennis
3Football
1Equestrian
1Volleyball
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). The map also marks 1 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
August is the best month for walking in Burlington
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 | 14.9 | 14.6 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.0 | 9.4 |
| High (°F) | 39 | 44 | 53 | 66 | 75 | 82 | 86 | 85 | 79 | 67 | 54 | 43 |
| Rain (in) | 3.3 | 3.1 | 4.1 | 4.6 | 4.9 | 4.9 | 4.3 | 3.5 | 3.2 | 3.3 | 3.2 | 3.7 |
February is the driest month (3.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 86 °F). 4.9 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Burlington →
Next door
Burlington and its neighbors
Burlington has the most mapped trails of the 2 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Burlington | 7% | 0.6 | 25 | 57% | B+ |
| Oakbrook | 1% | under 0.1 | 1 | 61% | D |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Burlington
Where can I hike in Burlington?
The longest trail networks: England-Idlewild Park, 3.9 miles; Gunpowder Creek Nature Park, 0.3 miles; Boone Woods County Park, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Burlington is conserved land?
7% 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 Burlington’s trails?
England-Idlewild Park and Gunpowder Creek Nature Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Burlington?
9.1 miles of bike routes are on the map: 9.1 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Burlington?
10,510 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Burlington or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 457 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Burlington have?
Ahead of 70% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #22 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 Burlington 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 →