Huckleberry Trails Park
Park
19 acres0.7 mi of trail
Huckleberry Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0B−Outdoors
Outdoors in Ruston
Ruston has 7.3 miles of mapped trails, 0.3 for every square mile of land
The biggest trail networks: Huckleberry Trails Park (0.7 mi), R. L. Cook Park (0.6 mi). 2% of Ruston’s land is conserved, about 202 acres. 68% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 46% of U.S. towns · #31 of 162 in Louisiana. What drives it
Conserved land
2%
202 acres · of 21.2 sq mi of land
Trails
7.3 mi
0.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
239 ac
11 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
68%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
10 mi
1.1 mi lanes · 7.0 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Ruston?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Ruston have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Ruston is ahead of 46% of U.S. towns, #31 of 162 in Louisiana. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
B−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Ruston’s overall grade.
Conserved land2% of the land · typical LA town 1% · U.S. 4%C+Trails0.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (7 mi) · LA 0.1 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land11 acres of park per 1,000 residents (239 acres) · LA 5 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to home68% of residents within a half mile of a park · LA 53% · U.S. 72%B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 46%
LessMore
Louisiana towns of 2,500+ (162)Ahead of 81%
Few Louisiana towns conserve much land (a typical one, 1%; the U.S., 4%), so Ruston’s 2% is ahead of 68% of Louisiana towns, while its trails per square mile lead 75% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to B−. 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 Huckleberry Trails Park, with 0.7 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Elmore D. Mayfield Park
Park
46 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 11 parks & preserves
Huckleberry Trails Park19 acres · 0.7 mi of trail
DirectionsR. L. Cook Park18 acres · 0.6 mi of trail
DirectionsGreenwood Park8 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsElmore D. Mayfield Park46 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsGarland Gregory Hideaway Park19 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsDuncan Park11 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsRock Island Greenway5 acres
DirectionsRoberts Park5 acres
DirectionsRailroad Park1 acres
DirectionsSidney Smith Park1 acres
DirectionsMemorial Park1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
202 conserved acres
2% of Ruston’s land. Who manages Ruston’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city202 ac
Local Park · 137 acLocal Recreation Area · 64 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elmore D. Mayfield Park Local Park | Town or city | 65 | Open |
| Regional Sports Complex Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 63 | Open |
| Duncan Park Local Park | Town or city | 22 | Open |
| Huckelberry Trails Park Local Park | Town or city | 18 | Open |
| R.L. Cook Park Local Park | Town or city | 17 | Open |
| Greenwood Park Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| Roberts Park Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| Memorial Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Sidney Smith Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
20 places to go in Ruston
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Ruston
17 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Ruston
1 dog park without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Picnic areas in Ruston
1 picnic area without a name on the map.
Disc golf in Ruston
Hideaway Park Disc Golf CourseLouisiana Tech University
DirectionsTrails & water
1 named trail and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 0.5 miUnpaved · 0.8 mi
Huckleberry Trail0.3 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
10 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.1 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
7.0 mi
off-road bike paths
1.9 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
31Tennis
27Baseball
10Basketball
7Football
5Softball
4Soccer
2Volleyball
1Multi-sport
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →21 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 8 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Federal BuildingBuilding · listed 1974
About itTownsend HouseBuilding · listed 1982
About itFirst Presbyterian ChurchBuilding · listed 1984
About itKidd-Davis HouseBuilding · listed 1984
About itT. L. James HouseBuilding · listed 1984
About itLewis HouseBuilding · listed 1988
About itRuston State BankBuilding · listed 1990
About itRuston Central Fire StationBuilding · listed 1992
About itRuston High SchoolBuilding · listed 1992
About itMeadows HouseBuilding · listed 1992
About itDixie TheatreBuilding · listed 1993
About itBogard Hall-Louisiana Tech UniversityBuilding · listed 1998
About it9 more on the History page.
When to get out
May is the best month for walking in Ruston
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) | 10.2 | 11.0 | 11.9 | 12.9 | 13.8 | 14.3 | 14.1 | 13.3 | 12.3 | 11.3 | 10.4 | 10.0 |
| High (°F) | 57 | 61 | 69 | 76 | 83 | 90 | 93 | 93 | 88 | 78 | 67 | 58 |
| Rain (in) | 5.5 | 5.2 | 5.5 | 5.8 | 4.6 | 4.5 | 3.9 | 3.7 | 3.9 | 4.7 | 4.5 | 5.5 |
August is the driest month (3.7 in) and the warmest (highs of 93 °F). 5.8 inches fall in April, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 93 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Ruston →
Next door
Ruston and its neighbors
Ruston 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ruston | 2% | 0.3 | 11 | 68% | B− |
| Grambling | 1% | 0.1 | 2 | 44% | C− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Ruston
Where can I hike in Ruston?
The longest trail networks: Huckleberry Trails Park, 0.7 miles; R. Cook Park, 0.6 miles; Greenwood Park, 0.3 miles; Elmore D. Mayfield Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Ruston 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 Ruston’s trails?
Huckleberry Trails Park and R. Cook Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Ruston?
10 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.1 of painted or protected lanes, 7.0 of off-road paths and 1.9 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Ruston?
684 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Ruston or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 239 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Ruston have?
Ahead of 46% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #31 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 Ruston 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 →