Ben Hawes Park
Park
552 acres13.7 mi of trail
Blue TrailGreen TrailRed TrailYellow Trail+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Smallbones · Public domainA−Outdoors
Outdoors in Owensboro
Owensboro has 25 miles of mapped trails, 1.2 for every square mile of land
91% of residents live within a half mile of a park. The biggest trail networks: Ben Hawes Park (13.7 mi), Jack C. Fisher Park (0.8 mi), Joe Ford Nature Park (0.7 mi). 7% of Owensboro’s land is conserved, about 954 acres.
Ahead of 84% of U.S. towns · #5 of 142 in Kentucky. What drives it
Conserved land
7%
954 acres · of 21.3 sq mi of land
Trails
25 mi
1.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,056 ac
18 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
91%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
17 mi
11 mi paths
What kind of outdoors town is Owensboro?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Owensboro have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Owensboro is ahead of 84% of U.S. towns, #5 of 142 in Kentucky. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; trail miles rank highest, park acres per resident lowest.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Owensboro’s overall grade.
Conserved land7% of the land · typical KY town 2% · U.S. 4%B+Trails1.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (25 mi) · KY 0.3 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land18 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,056 acres) · KY 8 · U.S. 13BParks close to home91% of residents within a half mile of a park · KY 59% · U.S. 72%A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 84%
LessMore
Kentucky towns of 2,500+ (142)Ahead of 97%
Few Kentucky towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Owensboro’s 7% is ahead of 91% of Kentucky towns, while its trails per square mile lead 94% of them.
Water is 6% of Owensboro’s area (1 of 23 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 7%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from A− 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 Ben Hawes Park, with 13.7 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Joe Ford Nature Park
Park
14 acres0.7 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Chautauqua Park
Park
29 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Heatherstone Park
Park
21 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Dugan Best Park
Park
7 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dugan Best Park Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 23 parks & preserves
Ben Hawes Park552 acres · 13.7 mi of trail
DirectionsJack C. Fisher Park31 acres · 0.8 mi of trail
DirectionsJoe Ford Nature Park14 acres · 0.7 mi of trail
Chautauqua Park29 acres · 0.4 mi of trail
Heatherstone Park21 acres · 0.4 mi of trail
Dugan Best Park7 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
Legion Park23 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsEnglish Park13 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
Kendall Perkins Park2 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsThompson-Berry Park30 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
James Mason Park2 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Cap Gardner Park1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Adkisson Greenbelt Park53 acres
DirectionsWaymond Morris Park52 acres
DirectionsMoreland Park18 acres
DirectionsWestern Kentucky Botanical Gardens Park16 acres
Yewell-Heritage Park12 acres
DirectionsSmothers Park8 acres
DirectionsSouthern Park6 acres
DirectionsGermantown Park3 acres
York Park3 acres
Max Rhoads Park1 acres
DirectionsHartland Park1 acres
Who protects it
954 conserved acres
7% of Owensboro’s land. Water is left out: Owensboro has 21.3 square miles of land and 1.5 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Owensboro’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city942 ac
State conservation9 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government9 ac
County1 ac
Local Park · 951 acConservation Easement · 9 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 2 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ben Hawes Park Local Park | Town or city | 555 | Open |
| Hillcrest Golf Course Local Park | Town or city | 69 | Open |
| Waymond Morris Park Local Park | Town or city | 51 | Open |
| Yewell-Heritage Park Local Park | Town or city | 44 | Open |
| Thompson-Berry Park Local Park | Town or city | 40 | Open |
| Jack C Fisher Park Local Park | Town or city | 33 | Open |
| Chautauqua Park Local Park | Town or city | 29 | Open |
| Legion Legion Local Park | Town or city | 21 | Open |
| Moreland Park Local Park | Town or city | 17 | Open |
| English Park Local Park | Town or city | 17 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
18 places to go in Owensboro
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Owensboro
15 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Owensboro
1 dog park without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in Owensboro
1 boat launch without a name on the map.
Community gardens in Owensboro
1 community garden without a name on the map.
Trails & water
6 named trails
Named trails
Unpaved · 7.9 mi
Blue Trail5.8 mi
Green Trail2.0 mi
Red Trail0.6 mi
Yellow Trail0.5 mi
Purple Trail0.3 mi
Dugan Best Park Trail0.2 mi
Biking & sports
17 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
11 mi
off-road bike paths
5.9 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
24Tennis
17Baseball
13Pickleball
7Football
6Basketball
5Softball
4Soccer
1Beach volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →31 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 1 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Trinity Episcopal ChurchBuilding · listed 1972
About itFelix Grimes HouseBuilding · listed 1975
About itHaphazardBuilding · listed 1975
About itMaj. Hampden Smith HouseBuilding · listed 1976
About itUnion StationBuilding · listed 1979
About itMedley HouseBuilding · listed 1980
About itD. D. Bogard HouseBuilding · listed 1980
About itJames J. Sweeney HouseBuilding · listed 1980
About itOwensboro Historic Commercial DistrictDistrict · listed 1983
About itSt. Joseph ChurchBuilding · listed 1983
About itBreidenbach BuildingBuilding · listed 1986
About itCallas Sweet ShopBuilding · listed 1986
About it19 more on the History page.
When to get out
June is the best month for walking in Owensboro
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 | 58 | 69 | 78 | 86 | 88 | 88 | 82 | 71 | 57 | 47 |
| Rain (in) | 3.6 | 3.5 | 4.4 | 5.0 | 5.1 | 4.2 | 4.3 | 3.0 | 3.6 | 3.6 | 3.9 | 4.2 |
August is the driest month (3.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 88 °F). 5.1 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 88 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Owensboro →
Questions about parks and trails in Owensboro
Where can I hike in Owensboro?
The longest trail networks: Ben Hawes Park, 13.7 miles; Jack C. Fisher Park, 0.8 miles; Joe Ford Nature Park, 0.7 miles; Chautauqua Park, 0.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Owensboro is conserved land?
7% 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 Owensboro’s trails?
Ben Hawes Park and Jack C. Fisher Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Owensboro?
17 miles of bike routes are on the map: 11 of off-road paths and 5.9 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Owensboro?
1,875 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Owensboro or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,056 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Owensboro have?
Ahead of 84% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #5 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 Owensboro 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 →