Levi Jackson Wilderness Road Park
Park
700 acres1.7 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: w.marsh · CC BY 2.0B+Outdoors
Outdoors in London
London has 745 acres of parks, 99 for every 1,000 residents
10% of London’s land is conserved, about 719 acres. The biggest trail networks: Levi Jackson Wilderness Road Park (1.7 mi), Whitley Branch Veterans Park (1.3 mi). 50% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 73% of U.S. towns · #20 of 142 in Kentucky. What drives it
Conserved land
10%
719 acres · of 11.7 sq mi of land
Trails
4.2 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
745 ac
99 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
50%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.5 mi
0.5 mi lanes
What kind of outdoors town is London?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does London have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, London is ahead of 73% of U.S. towns, #20 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 London’s overall grade.
Conserved land10% of the land · typical KY town 2% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (4 mi) · KY 0.3 · U.S. 0.4BPark land99 acres of park per 1,000 residents (745 acres) · KY 8 · U.S. 13AParks close to home50% of residents within a half mile of a park · KY 59% · U.S. 72%C+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 73%
LessMore
Kentucky towns of 2,500+ (142)Ahead of 87%
Few Kentucky towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so London’s 10% is ahead of 93% of Kentucky towns, while its trails per square mile lead 62% 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 Levi Jackson Wilderness Road Park, with 1.7 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Whitley Branch Veterans Park
Managed by CIty of London
26 acres1.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
London Rotary Childrens Park
Park
1 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Who protects it
719 conserved acres
10% of London’s land. Who manages London’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city710 ac
County33 ac
U.S. Forest Service9 ac
Joint1 ac
Local Park · 744 acNational Forest · 9 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Levi Jackson Wilderness Road Park Local Park | Town or city | 698 | Open |
| Laurel County Park/Softball Feilds Local Park | County | 33 | Open |
| London Little League Park Local Park | Town or city | 10 | Open |
| Daniel Boone National Forest National Forest | U.S. Forest Service | 9 | Open |
| Mill Street Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
| London-Laurel County Tennis Courts Local Park | Joint | 1 | Open |
Things to do
15 places to go in London
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in London
Scott Rose Foundation Playground & Musical ParkIn London Wellness Park
DirectionsPlus 10 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in London
Whitley Branch Bark ParkIn Whitley Branch Veterans Park
DirectionsDisc golf in London
Whitley Branch Disc Golf CourseIn Whitley Branch Veterans Park
DirectionsCommunity gardens in London
2 community gardens without a name on the map.
Biking & sports
0.5 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.5 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
Courts & fields
17Baseball
12Tennis
1Basketball
1Pickleball
1Volleyball
1Football
1Soccer
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →6 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Federal Building-CourthouseBuilding · listed 1974
About itBennett, Sue, Memorial School BuildingBuilding · listed 1979
About itPoynter BuildingBuilding · listed 1985
About itPennington InfirmaryBuilding · listed 1987
About itLondon Downtown Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2011
About itLondon Tuberculosis HospitalBuilding · listed 2016
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in London: April, May 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) | 9.9 | 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 | 58 | 69 | 76 | 83 | 86 | 85 | 79 | 69 | 57 | 48 |
| Rain (in) | 4.1 | 4.3 | 4.8 | 4.6 | 5.0 | 5.2 | 5.4 | 4.1 | 3.6 | 3.3 | 3.7 | 4.8 |
October is the driest month (3.3 in) and July the warmest (highs of 86 °F). 5.4 inches fall in July, the wettest month. The climate in London →
Questions about parks and trails in London
Where can I hike in London?
The longest trail networks: Levi Jackson Wilderness Road Park, 1.7 miles; Whitley Branch Veterans Park, 1.3 miles; London Rotary Childrens Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of London is conserved land?
10% 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 London’s trails?
Levi Jackson Wilderness Road Park and Whitley Branch Veterans Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in London?
0.5 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.5 of painted or protected lanes.
Is there public land near London?
47,419 acres of parks and open public land lie inside London or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 754 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does London have?
Ahead of 73% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #20 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 London 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 →