Covered Bridge Park
Park
6 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
COutdoors
Outdoors in Elsmere
Elsmere has 30 acres of parks, 3.2 for every 1,000 residents
0.2 miles of mapped trail cross Elsmere, 0.1 per square mile of land. 76% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 1% of Elsmere’s land is conserved, about 22 acres.
Ahead of 27% of U.S. towns · #96 of 142 in Kentucky. What drives it
Conserved land
1%
22 acres · of 2.6 sq mi of land
Trails
0.2 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
30 ac
3.2 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
76%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.3 mi
0.6 mi lanes · 0.6 mi paths
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Elsmere have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Elsmere is ahead of 27% of U.S. towns, #96 of 142 in Kentucky. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
C
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Elsmere’s overall grade.
Conserved land1% of the land · typical KY town 2% · U.S. 4%CTrails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (0 mi) · KY 0.3 · U.S. 0.4CPark land3.2 acres of park per 1,000 residents (30 acres) · KY 8 · U.S. 13C−Parks close to home76% 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 27%
LessMore
Kentucky towns of 2,500+ (142)Ahead of 33%
Few Kentucky towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Elsmere’s 1% is ahead of 43% of Kentucky towns, while its trails per square mile lead 26% of them.
NoteFew parks or trails are mapped in Elsmere. 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 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
The longest trail network is Covered Bridge Park, with 0.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
22 conserved acres
1% of Elsmere’s land. Who manages Elsmere’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city22 ac
Local Park · 22 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Covered Bridge Park Local Park | Town or city | 14 | Open |
| Woodside Park Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| Terrill Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
10 places to go in Elsmere
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Elsmere
10 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Biking & sports
1.3 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.6 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
0.6 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
5Baseball
4Basketball
1Tennis
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
August is the best month for walking in Elsmere
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 | 65 | 74 | 82 | 85 | 85 | 79 | 67 | 54 | 43 |
| Rain (in) | 3.3 | 3.1 | 4.1 | 4.6 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 4.5 | 3.5 | 3.3 | 3.3 | 3.2 | 3.7 |
February is the driest month (3.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 85 °F). 5.0 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Elsmere →
Next door
Elsmere and its neighbors
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elsmere | 1% | 0.1 | 3 | 76% | C |
| Erlanger | 2% | 0.3 | 4 | 89% | C+ |
| Independence | 7% | 0.3 | 26 | 62% | B+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Elsmere
Where can I hike in Elsmere?
The longest trail networks: Covered Bridge Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Elsmere is conserved land?
1% 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 Elsmere’s trails?
Covered Bridge Park doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Elsmere?
1.3 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.6 of painted or protected lanes and 0.6 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Elsmere?
7,468 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Elsmere or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 30 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Elsmere have?
Ahead of 27% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #96 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 Elsmere 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 →