Science Hill School · Photo: Nyttend · Public domainShelbyville has 11 miles of mapped trails, 1.0 for every square mile of land
40 acres are parks and preserves, 2.2 per 1,000 residents. 36% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 30% of U.S. towns · #89 of 142 in Kentucky. What drives it
What kind of outdoors town is Shelbyville?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
How much outdoors does Shelbyville have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Shelbyville is ahead of 30% of U.S. towns, #89 of 142 in Kentucky. Trail miles hold the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
Few Kentucky towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Shelbyville’s under 1% is ahead of 22% of Kentucky towns, while its trails per square mile lead 93% of them.
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
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
31 conserved acres
under 1% of Shelbyville’s land. Who manages Shelbyville’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1 acre is a conservation easement, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Greenway Park Local Park | County | 10 | Open |
| Clear Creek Park Greenway Local Park | Town or city | 9 | Open |
| Daniel Field Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| Clear Creek Park Local Park | County | 2 | Open |
| Elmo Head Park Local Park | County | 2 | Open |
| James Burnett Park Local Park | County | 1 | Open |
4 places to go in Shelbyville
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
3 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
1 named trail
0.4 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
34 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
22 more on the History page.
The walking year in Shelbyville
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 | 14.6 | 13.6 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.0 | 9.5 |
| High (°F) | 42 | 47 | 56 | 68 | 76 | 84 | 87 | 86 | 80 | 69 | 56 | 46 |
| Rain (in) | 3.6 | 3.5 | 4.6 | 5.0 | 5.5 | 5.1 | 5.1 | 3.6 | 3.5 | 3.8 | 3.5 | 4.3 |
September is the driest month (3.5 in) and July the warmest (highs of 87 °F). 5.5 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 87 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Shelbyville →
Questions about parks and trails in Shelbyville
How much of Shelbyville is conserved land?
under 1% 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.
Where can I bike in Shelbyville?
0.4 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.4 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Shelbyville?
4,001 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Shelbyville or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 40 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Shelbyville have?
Ahead of 30% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #89 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 Shelbyville 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 →