Jenny Wiley State Resort Park
Park
1,981 acres1.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Nyttend · Public domainA−Outdoors
Outdoors in Prestonsburg
Prestonsburg has 850 acres of parks, 226 for every 1,000 residents
19% of Prestonsburg’s land is conserved, about 1,772 acres. The biggest trail networks: Jenny Wiley State Resort Park (1.1 mi). 7.3 miles of mapped trail cross Prestonsburg, 0.5 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 82% of U.S. towns · #8 of 142 in Kentucky. What drives it
Conserved land
19%
1,772 acres · of 14.7 sq mi of land
Trails
7.3 mi
0.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
850 ac
226 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
48%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
14 mi
14 mi paths
What kind of outdoors town is Prestonsburg?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Prestonsburg have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Prestonsburg is ahead of 82% of U.S. towns, #8 of 142 in Kentucky. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Prestonsburg’s overall grade.
Conserved land19% of the land · typical KY town 2% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (7 mi) · KY 0.3 · U.S. 0.4BPark land226 acres of park per 1,000 residents (850 acres) · KY 8 · U.S. 13AParks close to home48% 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 82%
LessMore
Kentucky towns of 2,500+ (142)Ahead of 95%
Few Kentucky towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Prestonsburg’s 19% is ahead of 98% of Kentucky towns, while its trails per square mile lead 72% 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 Jenny Wiley State Resort Park, with 1.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Jenny Wiley Park
Park
81 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
1,772 conserved acres
19% of Prestonsburg’s land. Who manages Prestonsburg’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State parks882 ac
Army Corps of Engineers865 ac
Town or city458 ac
State fish & wildlife66 ac
County33 ac
State Park · 882 acRecreation Management Area · 865 acLocal Park · 491 acState Conservation Area · 66 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jenny Wiley State Resort Park State Park | State parks | 882 | Open |
| Dewey Recreation Area Recreation Management Area | Army Corps of Engineers | 865 | Open |
| Stonecrest Local Park | Town or city | 455 | Open |
| Dewey Lake Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 66 | Restricted |
| Archer Park Local Park | County | 33 | Open |
| Prestonsburg Mini Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Prestonsburg Playground Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
4 places to go in Prestonsburg
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in Prestonsburg
Archer Park Public Pool
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Prestonsburg
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in Prestonsburg
1 boat launch without a name on the map.
Picnic areas in Prestonsburg
1 picnic area without a name on the map.
Biking & sports
14 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
14 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
6Baseball
3Soccer
1Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →13 places on the National Register, one a National Historic Landmark
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.
Samuel May HouseBuilding · listed 1980
About itB. F. Combs HouseBuilding · listed 1989
About itFront Street Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1989
About itG. D. Callihan HouseBuilding · listed 1989
About itHarkins Law Office BuildingBuilding · listed 1989
About itJoseph D. Harkins HouseBuilding · listed 1989
About itMay-Latta HouseBuilding · listed 1989
About itMethodist Episcopal Church, SouthBuilding · listed 1989
About itUS Post Office-PrestonsburgBuilding · listed 1989
About itWest Prestonsburg BridgeStructure · listed 1989
About itFitzpatrick-Harmon HouseBuilding · listed 1989
About it1 more on the History page.
When to get out
April is the best month for walking in Prestonsburg
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) | 45 | 50 | 59 | 70 | 78 | 85 | 87 | 86 | 81 | 70 | 59 | 49 |
| Rain (in) | 3.4 | 3.5 | 4.2 | 4.0 | 4.7 | 4.6 | 5.2 | 3.8 | 3.4 | 3.1 | 2.9 | 4.1 |
November is the driest month (2.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 87 °F). 5.2 inches fall in July, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 87 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Prestonsburg →
Questions about parks and trails in Prestonsburg
Where can I hike in Prestonsburg?
The longest trail networks: Jenny Wiley State Resort Park, 1.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Prestonsburg is conserved land?
19% 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 Prestonsburg’s trails?
Jenny Wiley State Resort Park and Jenny Wiley Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Prestonsburg?
14 miles of bike routes are on the map: 14 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Prestonsburg?
5,472 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Prestonsburg or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,636 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Prestonsburg have?
Ahead of 82% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #8 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 Prestonsburg 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 →