Freeman Lake Park
Park
359 acres3.9 mi of trail
Freeman Lake TrailPirtle Nature TrailBraddock Creek LoopNature Park Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Nyttend · Public domainB+Outdoors
Outdoors in Elizabethtown
Elizabethtown has 20 miles of mapped trails, 0.7 for every square mile of land
The biggest trail networks: Freeman Lake Park (3.9 mi), Elizabethtown Nature Park (1.2 mi). 747 acres are parks and preserves, 23 per 1,000 residents. 4% of Elizabethtown’s land is conserved, about 730 acres.
Ahead of 66% of U.S. towns · #27 of 142 in Kentucky. What drives it
Conserved land
4%
730 acres · of 28.3 sq mi of land
Trails
20 mi
0.7 per sq mi of land
Park land
747 ac
23 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
57%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
8.1 mi
1.3 mi lanes · 6.8 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
3
What kind of outdoors town is Elizabethtown?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Elizabethtown have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Elizabethtown is ahead of 66% of U.S. towns, #27 of 142 in Kentucky. Trail miles hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Elizabethtown’s overall grade.
Conserved land4% of the land · typical KY town 2% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.7 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (20 mi) · KY 0.3 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land23 acres of park per 1,000 residents (747 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 66%
LessMore
Kentucky towns of 2,500+ (142)Ahead of 82%
Few Kentucky towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Elizabethtown’s 4% is ahead of 82% of Kentucky towns, while its trails per square mile lead 84% 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 Freeman Lake Park, with 3.9 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Elizabethtown Nature Park
Park
27 acres1.2 mi of trail
Perimeter LoopNature Park Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Who protects it
730 conserved acres
4% of Elizabethtown’s land. Who manages Elizabethtown’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city730 ac
Local Park · 730 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Freeman Lake Park Local Park | Town or city | 505 | Open |
| Veterans Tribute Park Local Park | Town or city | 87 | Open |
| American Legion Park Local Park | Town or city | 29 | Open |
| Michael Carroll Soccer Complex Local Park | Town or city | 23 | Open |
| University Drive Park Local Park | Town or city | 19 | Open |
| Ring Road Softball Complex Local Park | Town or city | 16 | Open |
| Nicholas Street Soccer Fields Local Park | Town or city | 16 | Open |
| Gates Field Local Park | Town or city | 12 | Open |
| St. John Road Baseball Park Local Park | Town or city | 8 | Open |
| Pritchard Community Center Local Park | Town or city | 7 | Open |
1 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
26 places to go in Elizabethtown
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Elizabethtown
FuntopiaIn American Legion Park
DirectionsPlus 21 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Elizabethtown
Arlington Park Apartments Dog Park
DirectionsPlus 3 dog parks without a name on the map.
Trails & water
16 named trails and 3 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 15.5 miUnpaved · 4.6 mi
Freeman Lake Trail3.2 mi
Perimeter Loop2.2 mi
Fitness Loop1.0 mi
Banam Shaw Trail0.9 mi
Cardinal Creek Trail0.9 mi
Creekside Loop0.8 mi
John Helm Trail0.5 mi
Claysville Loop0.4 mi
Wintersmith Trail0.4 mi
Pirtle Nature Trail0.4 mi
6 more trails
EFD Retention
0.3 miJohn Severns Trail
0.3 miNature Park Trail
0.3 miPine Woods Loop
0.3 miBraddock Creek Loop
0.2 miHaycraft Trail
0.1 miLakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
8.1 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.3 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
6.8 mi
off-road bike paths
Freeman Lake TrailBike route
3.2 miPerimeter LoopBike route
2.2 miBilly Creek TrailBike route
1.4 miFitness LoopBike route
1 miCourts & fields
28Baseball
24Tennis
14Soccer
12Pickleball
7Basketball
4Football
1Beach volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →37 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 3 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Lincoln Heritage HouseBuilding · listed 1973
About itBrown Pusey House Community CenterBuilding · listed 1974
About itFirst Baptist ChurchBuilding · listed 1974
About itHelm PlaceBuilding · listed 1976
About itElizabethtown Courthouse Square and Commercial DistrictDistrict · listed 1980
About itBenjamin Helm HouseBuilding · listed 1988
About itChrist Episcopal ChurchBuilding · listed 1988
About itEmbry Chapel ChurchBuilding · listed 1988
About itFirst Presbyterian ChurchBuilding · listed 1988
About itJ. Roy Bond HouseBuilding · listed 1988
About itJohn B. Helm HouseBuilding · listed 1988
About itLarue-Layman HouseBuilding · listed 1988
About it25 more on the History page.
When to get out
June is the best month for walking in Elizabethtown
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 | 14.5 | 13.6 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.1 | 9.6 |
| High (°F) | 43 | 48 | 57 | 69 | 76 | 84 | 87 | 87 | 81 | 70 | 57 | 47 |
| Rain (in) | 3.7 | 3.9 | 4.8 | 5.1 | 5.4 | 4.7 | 4.6 | 3.6 | 3.6 | 3.9 | 3.7 | 4.5 |
August is the driest month (3.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 87 °F). 5.4 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 87 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Elizabethtown →
Next door
Elizabethtown and its neighbors
Elizabethtown 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elizabethtown | 4% | 0.7 | 23 | 57% | B+ |
| Radcliff | 1% | 0.1 | 4 | 35% | C− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Elizabethtown
Where can I hike in Elizabethtown?
The longest trail networks: Freeman Lake Park, 3.9 miles; Elizabethtown Nature Park, 1.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Elizabethtown is conserved land?
4% 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 Elizabethtown’s trails?
Freeman Lake Park and Elizabethtown Nature Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Elizabethtown?
8.1 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.3 of painted or protected lanes and 6.8 of off-road paths. Named routes: Freeman Lake Trail, Perimeter Loop and Billy Creek Trail.
Is there public land near Elizabethtown?
2,947 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Elizabethtown or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 747 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Elizabethtown have?
Ahead of 66% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #27 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 Elizabethtown 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 →