Dawson Springs City Park
Managed by City of Dawson Springs
26 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Nyttend · Public domainB−Outdoors
Outdoors in Dawson Springs
Dawson Springs has 64 acres of parks, 33 for every 1,000 residents
78% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 2% of Dawson Springs’ land is conserved, about 43 acres. 0.7 miles of mapped trail cross Dawson Springs, 0.2 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 55% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
2%
43 acres · of 3.8 sq mi of land
Trails
0.7 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
64 ac
33 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
78%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
548 ft
Purdy Hill
Lakes & rivers
1
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Dawson Springs have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Dawson Springs is ahead of 55% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
B−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Dawson Springs’ overall grade.
Conserved land2% of the land · typical KY town 2% · U.S. 4%C+Trails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · KY 0.3 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land33 acres of park per 1,000 residents (64 acres) · KY 8 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home78% 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 55%
LessMore
Few Kentucky towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Dawson Springs’ 2% is ahead of 56% of Kentucky towns, while its trails per square mile lead 38% of 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
The longest trail network is Dawson Springs City Park, with 0.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Riverside Park
Managed by City of Dawson Springs
31 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Tradewater Park
Managed by City of Dawson Springs
3 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Tradewater Wildlife Management Area
Nature preserve
1 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Who protects it
43 conserved acres
2% of Dawson Springs’ land. Who manages Dawson Springs’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city36 ac
Other state land6 ac
State fish & wildlife1 ac
Local Park · 36 acState Other or Unknown · 6 acState Conservation Area · 1 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dawson Springs City Park Local Park | Town or city | 22 | Open |
| Riverside Creek Park Local Park | Town or city | 13 | Open |
| West Kentucky 4-H Camp State Other or Unknown | Other state land | 6 | Restricted |
| Tradewater Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 1 | Open |
| Dawson Springs Downtown Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
4 places to go in Dawson Springs
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Dawson Springs
3 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Peaks in Dawson Springs
Purdy Hill548 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
1 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
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
3Baseball
3Basketball
2Tennis
1Softball
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). The map also marks 1 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
June is the best month for walking in Dawson Springs
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 | 14.5 | 13.6 | 12.4 | 11.2 | 10.1 | 9.6 |
| High (°F) | 44 | 49 | 59 | 70 | 78 | 86 | 89 | 88 | 82 | 71 | 58 | 48 |
| Rain (in) | 3.6 | 4.1 | 4.8 | 5.0 | 4.9 | 4.4 | 4.5 | 3.2 | 3.5 | 3.8 | 3.9 | 4.5 |
August is the driest month (3.2 in) and July the warmest (highs of 89 °F). 5.0 inches fall in April, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 89 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Dawson Springs →
Questions about parks and trails in Dawson Springs
Where can I hike in Dawson Springs?
The longest trail networks: Dawson Springs City Park, 0.4 miles; Riverside Park, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Dawson Springs 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 Dawson Springs’ trails?
Dawson Springs City Park and Riverside Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Dawson Springs?
19,804 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Dawson Springs or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 64 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Dawson Springs have?
Ahead of 55% 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 Dawson Springs 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 →