East Union Park
Park
4 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: W.marsh · CC BY-SA 3.0BOutdoors
Outdoors in Carlisle
Carlisle has 52 acres of parks, 23 for every 1,000 residents
6% of Carlisle’s land is conserved, about 56 acres. 81% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 0.2 miles of mapped trail cross Carlisle, 0.1 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 64% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
6%
56 acres · of 1.3 sq mi of land
Trails
0.2 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
52 ac
23 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
81%
of residents within ½ mile
What kind of outdoors town is Carlisle?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Carlisle have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Carlisle is ahead of 64% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Carlisle’s overall grade.
Conserved land6% of the land · typical KY town 2% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (0 mi) · KY 0.3 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land23 acres of park per 1,000 residents (52 acres) · KY 8 · U.S. 13B+Parks 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 64%
LessMore
Few Kentucky towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Carlisle’s 6% is ahead of 89% of Kentucky towns, while its trails per square mile lead 37% of them.
NoteFew parks or trails are mapped in Carlisle. OpenStreetMap is mapped by volunteers and coverage varies from town to town, so a town with unmapped parks scores low on them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B 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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
56 conserved acres
6% of Carlisle’s land. Who manages Carlisle’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city49 ac
Other state land7 ac
Local Park · 49 acState Other or Unknown · 7 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| West End Park Local Park | Town or city | 27 | Open |
| Jockey Park Soccer Field Local Park | Town or city | 9 | Open |
| North Central 4-H Camp State Other or Unknown | Other state land | 7 | Restricted |
| Jockey Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Van Landigham Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| East End Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Community Action Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
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
2Tennis
1Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →9 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Forest Retreat Farm and TavernBuilding · listed 1973
About itCarlisle, Louisville and Nashville Passenger DepotBuilding · listed 1979
About itStone Barn on Brushy CreekBuilding · listed 1983
About itDorsey, Thomas A., FarmhouseBuilding · listed 1989
About itThomas Kennedy HouseBuilding · listed 1989
About itDinsmore HouseBuilding · listed 1989
About itWilliam Mathers HouseBuilding · listed 1989
About itCarlisle Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1989
About itCarlisle ArmoryBuilding · listed 2000
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Carlisle: April 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) | 9.8 | 10.7 | 11.8 | 13.1 | 14.2 | 14.8 | 14.6 | 13.6 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.0 | 9.5 |
| High (°F) | 42 | 46 | 55 | 67 | 76 | 83 | 86 | 86 | 80 | 68 | 56 | 46 |
| Rain (in) | 3.5 | 3.3 | 4.6 | 4.5 | 5.2 | 4.9 | 5.3 | 3.5 | 3.8 | 3.5 | 3.3 | 4.1 |
November is the driest month (3.3 in) and July the warmest (highs of 86 °F). 5.3 inches fall in July, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 86 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Carlisle →
Questions about parks and trails in Carlisle
How much of Carlisle is conserved land?
6% 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 Carlisle’s trails?
East Union Park doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Carlisle?
10,141 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Carlisle or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 52 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Carlisle have?
Ahead of 64% 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 Carlisle 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 →