Russell Railroad YMCA · Photo: Nyttend · Public domainFew parks or trails are on the map in Russell
10% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 2% of Russell’s land is conserved, about 45 acres.
Ahead of 7% of U.S. towns · #134 of 142 in Kentucky. What drives it
How much outdoors does Russell have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Russell is ahead of 7% of U.S. towns, #134 of 142 in Kentucky. All four inputs are below most U.S. towns; conserved land comes closest.
Few Kentucky towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Russell’s 2% is ahead of 60% of Kentucky towns, while its trails per square mile lead 8% of them.
Water is 10% of Russell’s area (0 of 4 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 2%.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
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45 conserved acres
2% of Russell’s land. Water is left out: Russell has 3.8 square miles of land and 0.4 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Russell’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bellefonte Woodland Walk Local Park | Private owners | 45 | Restricted |
0.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
The best walking months in Russell: April, 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) | 9.8 | 10.7 | 11.8 | 13.2 | 14.2 | 14.8 | 14.6 | 13.6 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.0 | 9.5 |
| High (°F) | 43 | 47 | 56 | 69 | 77 | 84 | 87 | 86 | 80 | 69 | 57 | 46 |
| Rain (in) | 3.2 | 3.1 | 4.2 | 3.8 | 4.5 | 4.2 | 4.7 | 3.7 | 3.3 | 3.0 | 2.8 | 3.7 |
November is the driest month (2.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 87 °F). 4.7 inches fall in July, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 87 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Russell →
Russell and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Russell | 2% | under 0.1 | under 1 | 10% | D |
| Flatwoods | under 1% | 0.1 | 1 | 57% | C− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Russell
How much of Russell 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.
Is there public land near Russell?
32,988 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Russell or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), almost none of it inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Russell have?
Ahead of 7% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #134 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 Russell neighbors.
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 →