Fords Woods Park
Park
7 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Brooks House · Photo: Nyttend · Public domainC+Outdoors
Outdoors in Middlesborough
Middlesborough has 26 acres of parks, 2.8 for every 1,000 residents
2.7 miles of mapped trail cross Middlesborough, 0.4 per square mile of land. 4% of Middlesborough’s land is conserved, about 177 acres. 57% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 40% of U.S. towns · #68 of 142 in Kentucky. What drives it
Conserved land
4%
177 acres · of 7.4 sq mi of land
Trails
2.7 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
26 ac
2.8 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
57%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
2
What kind of outdoors town is Middlesborough?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Middlesborough have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Middlesborough is ahead of 40% of U.S. towns, #68 of 142 in Kentucky. Trail miles hold the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
C+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Middlesborough’s overall grade.
Conserved land4% of the land · typical KY town 2% · U.S. 4%B−Trails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (3 mi) · KY 0.3 · U.S. 0.4BPark land2.8 acres of park per 1,000 residents (26 acres) · KY 8 · U.S. 13C−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 40%
LessMore
Kentucky towns of 2,500+ (142)Ahead of 52%
Few Kentucky towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Middlesborough’s 4% is ahead of 80% 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 C 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 Fords Woods Park, with 0.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Cumberland Gap National Historical Park
Managed by National Park Service
161 acres
Dogs usually limited
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Southside Park
Park
3 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
177 conserved acres
4% of Middlesborough’s land. Who manages Middlesborough’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
National Park Service150 ac
Town or city21 ac
County4 ac
State fish & wildlife1 ac
Historic or Cultural Area · 150 acLocal Park · 25 acPrivate Conservation · 1 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cumberland Gap National Historical Park Historic or Cultural Area | National Park Service | 150 | Restricted |
| Civic Center/Skate Park Local Park | Town or city | 9 | Open |
| Old Lincoln High School Park Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| Fords Woods Park Local Park | County | 4 | Open |
| Noetown Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Middlesboro Canal Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Corrigan Wildlife Mangement Area Private Conservation | State fish & wildlife | 1 | Closed |
Things to do
12 places to go in Middlesborough
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Middlesborough
12 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
2 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
7Tennis
6Baseball
6Basketball
3Pickleball
1Soccer
1Volleyball
1Football
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).
Limited American Association Office BuildingBuilding · listed 1978
About itMiddlesboro Downtown Commercial DistrictDistrict · listed 1983
About itSt. Mary's Episcopal ChurchBuilding · listed 1984
About itMt. Moriah Baptist ChurchBuilding · listed 1985
About itBrooks HouseBuilding · listed 2009
About itMiddlesboro Jewish CemeterySite · listed 2017
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Middlesborough: April to June 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 | 14.6 | 14.4 | 13.5 | 12.4 | 11.2 | 10.2 | 9.7 |
| High (°F) | 45 | 50 | 59 | 69 | 77 | 83 | 86 | 85 | 80 | 70 | 58 | 48 |
| Rain (in) | 4.4 | 4.7 | 5.1 | 4.7 | 4.2 | 4.5 | 4.8 | 3.6 | 3.5 | 3.2 | 3.7 | 5.4 |
October is the driest month (3.2 in) and July the warmest (highs of 86 °F). 5.4 inches fall in December, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 86 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Middlesborough →
Questions about parks and trails in Middlesborough
Where can I hike in Middlesborough?
The longest trail networks: Fords Woods Park, 0.3 miles; Southside Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Middlesborough 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 Middlesborough’s trails?
Fords Woods Park and Cumberland Gap National Historical Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Middlesborough?
18,283 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Middlesborough or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 26 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Middlesborough have?
Ahead of 40% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #68 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 Middlesborough 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 →