Photo: Nutriawood · CC BY-SA 4.098% of residents live within a half mile of a park in Gretna
0.1 miles of mapped trail cross Gretna. 135 acres are parks and preserves, 7.8 per 1,000 residents. 2% of Gretna’s land is conserved, about 55 acres.
Ahead of 42% of U.S. towns · #39 of 162 in Louisiana. What drives it
What kind of outdoors town is Gretna?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
How much outdoors does Gretna have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Gretna is ahead of 42% of U.S. towns, #39 of 162 in Louisiana. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
Few Louisiana towns conserve much land (a typical one, 1%; the U.S., 4%), so Gretna’s 2% is ahead of 78% of Louisiana towns, while its trails per square mile lead 23% of them.
Water is 10% of Gretna’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
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Pick a walk
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Huey P Long Park
All 5 parks & preserves
55 conserved acres
2% of Gretna’s land. Water is left out: Gretna has 4.0 square miles of land and 0.5 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Gretna’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mel Ott Park Local Park | Town or city | 22 | Open |
| Gretna City Park Local Park | Town or city | 12 | Open |
| Huey P. Long Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Bellevue Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Gretna Bmx Raceway Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Knight'S Corner Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Gretna Heritage Playground Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Jb Spencer Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| River View Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Virgil St. Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
1 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
1 lakes & rivers
5.0 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.
6 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.
The best walking months in Gretna: April and May
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) | 10.4 | 11.1 | 11.9 | 12.9 | 13.6 | 14.1 | 13.9 | 13.2 | 12.3 | 11.4 | 10.6 | 10.2 |
| High (°F) | 63 | 67 | 72 | 78 | 85 | 90 | 91 | 91 | 88 | 80 | 71 | 65 |
| Rain (in) | 5.3 | 4.2 | 4.7 | 5.0 | 5.2 | 7.1 | 7.7 | 6.7 | 5.5 | 3.7 | 3.8 | 4.6 |
October is the driest month (3.7 in) and August the warmest (highs of 91 °F). 7.7 inches fall in July, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 91 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Gretna →
Gretna 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gretna | 2% | under 0.1 | 8 | 98% | C+ |
| Harvey | 1% | 0.1 | 3 | 47% | C− |
| New Orleans | 29% | 0.5 | 10 | 93% | A− |
| Terrytown | 1% | 0.1 | 1 | 72% | C− |
| Timberlane | 2% | 0.3 | 2 | 65% | C+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Gretna
How much of Gretna is conserved land?
2% of its land, against a typical 1% for a Louisiana town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Gretna’s trails?
Gretna Park and Mel Ott Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Gretna?
5.0 miles of bike routes are on the map: 5.0 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Gretna?
6,310 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Gretna or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 135 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Gretna have?
Ahead of 42% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #39 of 162 in Louisiana. 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 Gretna 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 →