Maple Woods Natural Area
Managed by City of Gladstone, Missouri
40 acres1.3 mi of trail
Loop TrailSkinny Shortcut TrailEasierHarder
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Atkins-Johnson Farmhouse Property · Photo: 25or6to4 · CC BY-SA 4.0BOutdoors
Outdoors in Gladstone
97% of residents live within a half mile of a park in Gladstone
The biggest trail networks: Maple Woods Natural Area (1.3 mi). 4% of Gladstone’s land is conserved, about 229 acres. 265 acres are parks and preserves, 9.8 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 63% of U.S. towns · #66 of 247 in Missouri. What drives it
Conserved land
4%
229 acres · of 8.1 sq mi of land
Trails
2.1 mi
0.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
265 ac
9.8 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
97%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
11 mi
5.8 mi lanes · 5.4 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Gladstone?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Gladstone have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Gladstone is ahead of 63% of U.S. towns, #66 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 Gladstone’s overall grade.
Conserved land4% of the land · typical MO town 2% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (2 mi) · MO 0.3 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land9.8 acres of park per 1,000 residents (265 acres) · MO 11 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to home97% of residents within a half mile of a park · MO 74% · U.S. 72%A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 63%
LessMore
Missouri towns of 2,500+ (247)Ahead of 74%
Few Missouri towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Gladstone’s 4% is ahead of 78% of Missouri towns, while its trails per square mile lead 49% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B− 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 Maple Woods Natural Area, with 1.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Big Shoal Heritage Area
Park
19 acres0.3 mi of trail
Atkins-Johnson Farm Loop Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 13 parks & preserves
Maple Woods Natural Area40 acres · 1.3 mi of trail · City of Gladstone, Missouri
DirectionsBig Shoal Heritage Area19 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsFlora Park4 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsCentral Park13 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsLinden Square1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · City of Gladstone
DirectionsHappy Rock Park100 acres
DirectionsHobby Hill Park31 acres
DirectionsOak Grove Park18 acres
DirectionsMeadowbrook Park9 acres
Hamilton Heights Park9 acres
DirectionsRock Creek Meadows6 acres
Hidden Hollow Park4 acres
DirectionsLittle Gully Park1 acres
Who protects it
229 conserved acres
4% of Gladstone’s land. Who manages Gladstone’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city229 ac
Local Park · 229 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Happy Rock Park Local Park | Town or city | 123 | Open |
| Hobby Hill Park Local Park | Town or city | 31 | Open |
| Oak Grove Park Local Park | Town or city | 17 | Open |
| Flora Park Local Park | Town or city | 17 | Open |
| Central Park Local Park | Town or city | 11 | Open |
| Hamilton Heights Park Local Park | Town or city | 8 | Open |
| Meadowbrook Park Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| Rock Creek Meadows Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| Sycamore Park Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Open |
| 72Nd St Tennis Courts Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
1 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
30 places to go in Gladstone
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in Gladstone
Brooktree Neighborhood Pool
DirectionsKids Swimming PoolIn Central Park
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Gladstone
Hobby Hill Park PlaygroundIn Hobby Hill Park
DirectionsHobby Hill Park ZiplineIn Hobby Hill Park
DirectionsOak Grove Park PlaygroundIn Oak Grove Park
DirectionsPlus 23 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Gladstone
2 dog parks without a name on the map.
Trails & water
5 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 1.1 mi
Loop Trail0.9 mi
Atkins-Johnson Farm Loop Trail0.3 mi
Skinny Shortcut Trail0.2 mi
Easier0.1 mi
Harder0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
11 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
5.8 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
5.4 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
17Tennis
13Soccer
12Baseball
7Basketball
3Pickleball
2Beach volleyball
1Volleyball
1Football
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 1 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Atkins-Johnson Farmhouse PropertyBuilding · listed 2007
About itWhen to get out
April is the best month for walking in Gladstone
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 | 14.7 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.0 | 9.4 |
| High (°F) | 38 | 44 | 55 | 65 | 75 | 84 | 88 | 86 | 79 | 67 | 53 | 42 |
| Rain (in) | 1.2 | 1.5 | 2.4 | 4.0 | 5.4 | 5.1 | 4.8 | 4.5 | 3.9 | 3.3 | 2.1 | 1.6 |
January is the driest month (1.2 in) and July the warmest (highs of 88 °F). 5.4 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 88 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Gladstone →
Questions about parks and trails in Gladstone
Where can I hike in Gladstone?
The longest trail networks: Maple Woods Natural Area, 1.3 miles; Big Shoal Heritage Area, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Gladstone is conserved land?
4% 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 Gladstone’s trails?
Maple Woods Natural Area and Big Shoal Heritage Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Gladstone?
11 miles of bike routes are on the map: 5.8 of painted or protected lanes and 5.4 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Gladstone?
10,489 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Gladstone or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 265 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Gladstone have?
Ahead of 63% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #66 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 Gladstone 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 →