Shaw Park
Managed by City of Clayton
50 acres1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Lightmetro · CC BY-SA 4.0B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Clayton
6% of Clayton’s land is conserved, and virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park. The biggest trail networks: Shaw Park (1 mi). 1.4 miles of mapped trail cross Clayton, 0.6 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 74% of U.S. towns · #39 of 247 in Missouri. What drives it
Conserved land
6%
89 acres · of 2.5 sq mi of land
Trails
1.4 mi
0.6 per sq mi of land
Park land
118 ac
6.8 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
8.1 mi
4.4 mi lanes · 0.8 mi paths
What kind of outdoors town is Clayton?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Clayton have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Clayton is ahead of 74% of U.S. towns, #39 of 247 in Missouri. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Clayton’s overall grade.
Conserved land6% of the land · typical MO town 2% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.6 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · MO 0.3 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land6.8 acres of park per 1,000 residents (118 acres) · MO 11 · U.S. 13C+Parks close to homeVirtually all residents within a half mile of a park · MO 74% · U.S. 72%A+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 74%
LessMore
Missouri towns of 2,500+ (247)Ahead of 85%
Few Missouri towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Clayton’s 6% is ahead of 87% of Missouri towns, while its trails per square mile lead 70% 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 Shaw Park, with 1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Concordia Park
Managed by Concordia Seminary
10 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 8 parks & preserves
Shaw Park50 acres · 1 mi of trail · City of Clayton
DirectionsMemorial Park2 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsTaylor Park1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Oak Knoll Park20 acres
DirectionsConcordia Park10 acres · Concordia Seminary
DirectionsAnderson Park5 acres
DirectionsTuscany Park3 acres
DirectionsHanley House Park1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
89 conserved acres
6% of Clayton’s land. Who manages Clayton’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city84 ac
Private owners3 ac
Local Park · 87 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shaw Park Local Park | Town or city | 56 | Open |
| Oak Knoll Park Local Park | Town or city | 20 | Open |
| Anderson Park Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Open |
| Brentmoor Park Local Park | Private owners | 3 | Open |
| Concordia Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
| Taylor Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
| Hanley House And Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
28 places to go in Clayton
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in Clayton
Children's PoolIn Shaw Park
DirectionsDiving TankIn Shaw Park
DirectionsOlympic Racing PoolIn Shaw Park
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Clayton
Tree Top PlaygroundIn Shaw Park
DirectionsPlus 15 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Clayton
1 dog park without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Picnic areas in Clayton
Picnic Pad 1In Shaw Park
DirectionsPicnic Pad 2In Shaw Park
DirectionsPicnic Pad 3In Shaw Park
DirectionsPicnic Pad 4In Shaw Park
DirectionsPlus 3 picnic areas without a name on the map.
Community gardens in Clayton
1 community garden without a name on the map.
Biking & sports
8.1 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
4.4 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
0.8 mi
off-road bike paths
2.9 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
23Tennis
11Baseball
8Soccer
4Basketball
2Beach volleyball
2Football
1Softball
1Volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →10 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 4 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Martin Franklin Hanley HouseBuilding · listed 1971
About itCarrswold Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1982
About itHaarstick-Whittemore HousesBuilding · listed 1982
About itShanley BuildingBuilding · listed 1982
About itBrentmoor Park, Brentmoor and Forest Ridge DistrictDistrict · listed 1982
About itSeven Gables BuildingBuilding · listed 1985
About itWydown-Forsyth DistrictDistrict · listed 1988
About itHi-Pointe-De Mun Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2005
About itMoorlands Addition Apartment DistrictDistrict · listed 2009
About itClaverach ParkDistrict · listed 2015
About itWhen to get out
The walking year in Clayton
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 | 9.5 |
| High (°F) | 40 | 46 | 56 | 68 | 77 | 85 | 88 | 87 | 80 | 69 | 55 | 44 |
| Rain (in) | 2.5 | 2.1 | 3.4 | 4.6 | 4.9 | 4.5 | 3.8 | 3.4 | 3.4 | 3.1 | 3.3 | 2.7 |
February is the driest month (2.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 88 °F). 4.9 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 88 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Clayton →
Next door
Clayton 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clayton | 6% | 0.6 | 7 | 99%+ | B+ |
| University City | 5% | 0.4 | 6 | 99%+ | B+ |
| Richmond Heights | under 1% | under 0.1 | 1 | 96% | C− |
| St. Louis | 8% | 0.6 | 14 | 99%+ | A− |
| Ladue | 1% | 0.7 | 10 | 57% | B− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Clayton
Where can I hike in Clayton?
The longest trail networks: Shaw Park, 1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Clayton is conserved land?
6% 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 Clayton’s trails?
Shaw Park and Oak Knoll Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Clayton?
8.1 miles of bike routes are on the map: 4.4 of painted or protected lanes, 0.8 of off-road paths and 2.9 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Clayton?
15,036 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Clayton or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 118 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Clayton have?
Ahead of 74% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #39 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 Clayton 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 →