Ridgeway · Photo: Jack Boucher · Public domainSt. Matthews has 115 acres of parks, 6.5 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Brown Park (1.5 mi), St. Matthews Community Park (1.1 mi). 2.7 miles of mapped trail cross St. Matthews, 0.6 per square mile of land. 84% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 59% of U.S. towns · #36 of 142 in Kentucky. What drives it
What kind of outdoors town is St. Matthews?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
How much outdoors does St. Matthews have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, St. Matthews is ahead of 59% of U.S. towns, #36 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 St. Matthews’ 4% is ahead of 81% of Kentucky towns, while its trails per square mile lead 79% 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.
Pick a walk
The longest trail network is Brown Park, with 1.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Arthur K. Draut Park
111 conserved acres
4% of St. Matthews’ land. Who manages St. Matthews’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. Matthews Community Park Local Park | Joint | 46 | Open |
| Brown Park Local Park | Joint | 29 | Open |
| Draut Park Local Park | Joint | 24 | Open |
| Warwick Park Local Park | Joint | 11 | Open |
10 places to go in St. Matthews
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
9 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
1 community garden without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
6.2 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.
5 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
The walking year in St. Matthews
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 | 57 | 68 | 77 | 85 | 88 | 87 | 81 | 70 | 57 | 46 |
| Rain (in) | 3.4 | 3.5 | 4.6 | 4.9 | 5.3 | 4.8 | 4.5 | 3.8 | 3.6 | 3.8 | 3.6 | 4.2 |
January is the driest month (3.4 in) and July the warmest (highs of 88 °F). 5.3 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 88 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in St. Matthews →
St. Matthews and its neighbors
St. Matthews has the most mapped trails of the 2 towns around it. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Matthews | 4% | 0.6 | 7 | 84% | B |
| Lyndon | 4% | 0.6 | 11 | 99%+ | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in St. Matthews
Where can I hike in St. Matthews?
The longest trail networks: Brown Park, 1.5 miles; St. Matthews Community Park, 1.1 miles; Arthur K. Draut Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of St. Matthews is conserved land?
4% 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 St. Matthews’ trails?
OpenStreetMap records dogs as welcome at St. Matthews Community Park (on leash). For the rest, check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in St. Matthews?
6.2 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.0 of painted or protected lanes, 0.4 of off-road paths and 4.7 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near St. Matthews?
13,497 acres of parks and open public land lie inside St. Matthews or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 115 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does St. Matthews have?
Ahead of 59% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #36 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 St. Matthews 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 →