Lake Mingo/Corman Park
Park
18 acres0.8 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Nyttend · Public domainC+Outdoors
Outdoors in Nicholasville
Nicholasville has 266 acres of parks, 8.3 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Lake Mingo/Corman Park (0.8 mi). 2% of Nicholasville’s land is conserved, about 176 acres. 73% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 42% of U.S. towns · #61 of 142 in Kentucky. What drives it
Conserved land
2%
176 acres · of 15.5 sq mi of land
Trails
3.9 mi
0.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
266 ac
8.3 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
73%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
2.7 mi
0.6 mi lanes · 2.1 mi paths
What kind of outdoors town is Nicholasville?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Nicholasville have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Nicholasville is ahead of 42% of U.S. towns, #61 of 142 in Kentucky. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
C+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Nicholasville’s overall grade.
Conserved land2% of the land · typical KY town 2% · U.S. 4%C+Trails0.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (4 mi) · KY 0.3 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land8.3 acres of park per 1,000 residents (266 acres) · KY 8 · U.S. 13C+Parks close to home73% 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 42%
LessMore
Kentucky towns of 2,500+ (142)Ahead of 57%
Few Kentucky towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Nicholasville’s 2% is ahead of 57% of Kentucky towns, while its trails per square mile lead 48% 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 Lake Mingo/Corman Park, with 0.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Riney B Park
Park
110 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Woodrow Grow Park
Managed by Nicholasville-Jessamine County Parks & Recreation
4 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Who protects it
176 conserved acres
2% of Nicholasville’s land. Who manages Nicholasville’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city97 ac
County76 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits5 ac
Local Park · 173 acConservation Easement · 3 acRanch Easement · 3 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 3 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| City County Park Local Park | Town or city | 79 | Open |
| Riney B Park Local Park | County | 40 | Open |
| Lake Veiw Park Local Park | Town or city | 17 | Open |
| Corman Park Local Park | County | 8 | Open |
| James C Mason Park Local Park | County | 4 | Open |
| Woodford Grow Park Local Park | County | 4 | Open |
| West Place Park Local Park | County | 3 | Open |
| Hamilton Masterson Park Local Park | County | 3 | Open |
| Clint Hayden Park Local Park | County | 3 | Open |
| Billy Lockridge Park Local Park | County | 3 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
7 places to go in Nicholasville
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in Nicholasville
Jessamine County Aquatic CenterIn Riney B Park
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Nicholasville
5 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Nicholasville
1 dog park without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Biking & sports
2.7 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
2.1 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
17Baseball
10Tennis
3Soccer
2Basketball
2Football
1Skate park
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →30 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 2 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
George I. Brown HouseBuilding · listed 1977
About itStone House on West HickmanBuilding · listed 1983
About itBrick House on Shun PikeBuilding · listed 1984
About itButler's TavernBuilding · listed 1984
About itHoover HouseBuilding · listed 1984
About itMarshall-Bryan HouseBuilding · listed 1984
About itMcConnell-Woodson-Philips HouseBuilding · listed 1984
About itNave-Brown HouseBuilding · listed 1984
About itProvidence ChurchBuilding · listed 1984
About itRoberts ChapelBuilding · listed 1984
About itSunnyside Farm HouseBuilding · listed 1984
About itBarkley HouseBuilding · listed 1984
About it18 more on the History page.
When to get out
August is the best month for walking in Nicholasville
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 | 9.5 |
| High (°F) | 42 | 47 | 56 | 67 | 75 | 83 | 86 | 85 | 80 | 68 | 56 | 45 |
| Rain (in) | 3.6 | 3.7 | 4.6 | 4.6 | 5.2 | 4.8 | 5.0 | 3.6 | 3.8 | 3.5 | 3.3 | 4.2 |
November is the driest month (3.3 in) and July the warmest (highs of 86 °F). 5.2 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Nicholasville →
Questions about parks and trails in Nicholasville
Where can I hike in Nicholasville?
The longest trail networks: Lake Mingo/Corman Park, 0.8 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Nicholasville 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 Nicholasville’s trails?
Lake Mingo/Corman Park and Riney B Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Nicholasville?
2.7 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.6 of painted or protected lanes and 2.1 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Nicholasville?
7,366 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Nicholasville or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 266 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Nicholasville have?
Ahead of 42% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #61 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 Nicholasville 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 →