Burr Oak Woods Conservation Area
Managed by Missouri Department of Conservation
755 acres13 mi of trail
Area Access TrailWildlife Habitat TrailBethany Falls TrailHickory Grove Trail+1
No dogs
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: Rowen Hansen · CC BY-SA 4.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Blue Springs
Blue Springs has 32 miles of mapped trails, 1.4 for every square mile of land
The biggest trail networks: Burr Oak Woods Conservation Area (13 mi), Hidden Valley Sports Complex Park (1.1 mi), Burrus Old Mill Park (1.1 mi). 9% of Blue Springs’ land is conserved, about 1,234 acres. 84% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 82% of U.S. towns · #16 of 247 in Missouri. What drives it
Conserved land
9%
1,234 acres · of 22.2 sq mi of land
Trails
32 mi
1.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
776 ac
13 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
84%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
28 mi
14 mi lanes · 14 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
7
1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Blue Springs?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Blue Springs have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Blue Springs is ahead of 82% of U.S. towns, #16 of 247 in Missouri. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; trail miles rank highest, park acres per resident lowest.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Blue Springs’ overall grade.
Conserved land9% of the land · typical MO town 2% · U.S. 4%B+Trails1.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (32 mi) · MO 0.3 · U.S. 0.4APark land13 acres of park per 1,000 residents (776 acres) · MO 11 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to home84% of residents within a half mile of a park · MO 74% · U.S. 72%B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 82%
LessMore
Missouri towns of 2,500+ (247)Ahead of 94%
Few Missouri towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Blue Springs’ 9% is ahead of 93% of Missouri towns, while its trails per square mile lead 95% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ to A. 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 Burr Oak Woods Conservation Area, with 13 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Hidden Valley Sports Complex Park
Park
84 acres1.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto Soccer Parking
Rotary Park at Railroad Lake
Managed by Blue Springs Parks and Recreation
17 acres0.8 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Gregory O. Grounds Park
Managed by City of Blue Springs
151 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
All 32 parks & preserves
Burr Oak Woods Conservation Area755 acres · 13 mi of trail · Missouri Department of Conservation
DirectionsHidden Valley Sports Complex Park84 acres · 1.1 mi of trail
DirectionsBurrus Old Mill Park17 acres · 1.1 mi of trail
DirectionsRotary Park at Railroad Lake17 acres · 0.8 mi of trail · Blue Springs Parks and Recreation
DirectionsPink Hill Park46 acres · 0.7 mi of trail
DirectionsWoods Chapel Park11 acres · 0.6 mi of trail
DirectionsGregory O. Grounds Park151 acres · 0.4 mi of trail · City of Blue Springs
DirectionsSaint Mary's Park6 acres · 0.4 mi of trail
DirectionsKeystone Park43 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsWilbur Young Park37 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsBrittany Hill Park16 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsLucy Franklin Park5 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
Franklin Smith School Park7 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Blue Springs Parks and Recreation
DirectionsCenterline Beach Park5 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsLittle Pond Park3 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsShamrock Park2 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsSherwood Village Park1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsMartin Park1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsSouthwest Park76 acres
DirectionsSoutheast Park76 acres
American Legion Park & Baseball Complex34 acres
DirectionsBlue Springs Park21 acres
DirectionsWard Park10 acres · Blue Springs Parks and Recreation
DirectionsBaumgardner Park9 acres
Central Park7 acres
DirectionsJames Walker School Park6 acres · Blue Springs Parks and Recreation
DirectionsFleming Park5 acres · Jackson County Parks and Recreation
DirectionsBurr Oaks' Glades Reservation Area3 acres
DirectionsLittle Blue Trace Nature Preserve2 acres · Jackson County Parks + Rec
DirectionsWaterfield Park2 acres
DirectionsJim Bridger Urban Conservation Area1 acres · Missouri Department of Conservation
Springbrook Park1 acres
Who protects it
1,234 conserved acres
9% of Blue Springs’ land. Who manages Blue Springs’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city450 ac
County36 ac
Not recorded748 ac
State Conservation Area · 748 acLocal Park · 486 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Burr Oak Woods Conservation Area State Conservation Area | Not recorded | 716 | Restricted |
| Gregory O. Grounds Park And Remembrance Lake Local Park | Town or city | 151 | Open |
| Hidden Valley Park Local Park | Town or city | 98 | Open |
| Pink Hill Park Local Park | Town or city | 43 | Open |
| Keystone Park Local Park | Town or city | 42 | Open |
| Wilber Young Park Local Park | Town or city | 36 | Open |
| Fleming Park Local Park | County | 36 | Open |
| Burr Oak Woods Natural Area State Conservation Area | Not recorded | 31 | Restricted |
| Burrus Old Mill Park Local Park | Town or city | 17 | Open |
| Blue Spring Park Local Park | Town or city | 14 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
61 places to go in Blue Springs
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Blue Springs
Keystone ParkIn Keystone Park
DirectionsNature Preservation StationIn Burr Oak Woods Conservation Area
Directions56 playgrounds are on OpenStreetMap in all; the list shows named ones from the first 30.
Dog parks in Blue Springs
Blue Springs Dog ParkIn Gregory O. Grounds Park
DirectionsPlus 1 dog park without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in Blue Springs
1 boat launch without a name on the map.
Scenic views in Blue Springs
Glades Observation StationIn Burr Oaks' Glades Reservation Area
DirectionsPlus 1 scenic view without a name on the map.
Trails & water
6 named trails and 7 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 11.4 mi
Area Access Trail2.2 mi
Wildlife Habitat Trail1.6 mi
Bethany Falls Trail1.3 mi
Hickory Grove Trail1.2 mi
Prairie Connector Trail0.4 mi
Wildlife Habitat Trail Connector0.1 mi
Biking & sports
28 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
14 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
14 mi
off-road bike paths
0.2 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
35Baseball
21Tennis
19Soccer
15Basketball
15Beach volleyball
9Tracks
9Football
9Pickleball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 5 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
German Evangelical Pastors' Home Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1988
About itWhen to get out
April is the best month for walking in Blue Springs
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) | 9.7 | 10.7 | 11.8 | 13.2 | 14.3 | 14.9 | 14.6 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.0 | 9.4 |
| High (°F) | 38 | 44 | 55 | 65 | 75 | 84 | 88 | 86 | 79 | 67 | 54 | 42 |
| Rain (in) | 1.3 | 1.6 | 2.6 | 4.2 | 5.6 | 5.1 | 4.8 | 4.3 | 4.1 | 3.4 | 2.3 | 1.8 |
January is the driest month (1.3 in) and July the warmest (highs of 88 °F). 5.6 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 88 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Blue Springs →
Next door
Blue Springs and its neighbors
Blue Springs has the second most mapped trails of the 5 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blue Springs | 9% | 1.4 | 13 | 84% | A− |
| Independence | 5% | 0.6 | 19 | 74% | B+ |
| Lake Lotawana | under 1% | under 0.1 | 3 | 33% | D |
| Lake Tapawingo | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Grain Valley | 2% | 0.1 | 9 | 82% | C+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Blue Springs
Where can I hike in Blue Springs?
The longest trail networks: Burr Oak Woods Conservation Area, 13 miles; Hidden Valley Sports Complex Park, 1.1 miles; Burrus Old Mill Park, 1.1 miles; Rotary Park at Railroad Lake, 0.8 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Blue Springs is conserved land?
9% of its land, against a typical 2% for a Missouri town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Blue Springs’ trails?
Burr Oak Woods Conservation Area and Hidden Valley Sports Complex Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Blue Springs?
28 miles of bike routes are on the map: 14 of painted or protected lanes, 14 of off-road paths and 0.2 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Blue Springs?
20,194 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Blue Springs or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 776 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Blue Springs have?
Ahead of 82% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #16 of 247 in Missouri. 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 Blue Springs 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 →