Jesse James Park
Park
131 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
James Brothers' House and Farm · Photo: Americasroof · CC BY-SA 3.0COutdoors
Outdoors in Kearney
Kearney has 175 acres of parks, 16 for every 1,000 residents
15% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 2% of Kearney’s land is conserved, about 171 acres. 2.9 miles of mapped trail cross Kearney, 0.2 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 33% of U.S. towns · #175 of 247 in Missouri. What drives it
Conserved land
2%
171 acres · of 13.3 sq mi of land
Trails
2.9 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
175 ac
16 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
15%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
11 mi
1.6 mi lanes · 9.4 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Kearney have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Kearney is ahead of 33% of U.S. towns, #175 of 247 in Missouri. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
C
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Kearney’s overall grade.
Conserved land2% of the land · typical MO town 2% · U.S. 4%C+Trails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (3 mi) · MO 0.3 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land16 acres of park per 1,000 residents (175 acres) · MO 11 · U.S. 13BParks close to home15% of residents within a half mile of a park · MO 74% · U.S. 72%C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 33%
LessMore
Missouri towns of 2,500+ (247)Ahead of 29%
Few Missouri towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Kearney’s 2% is ahead of 51% of Missouri towns, while its trails per square mile lead 46% 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 Jesse James Park, with 0.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Lions Park
Managed by City of Kearney, Missouri
2 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Who protects it
171 conserved acres
2% of Kearney’s land. Who manages Kearney’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city171 ac
Local Park · 171 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jesse James Park Local Park | Town or city | 134 | Open |
| Mack Porter Park Local Park | Town or city | 35 | Open |
| Lions Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
Things to do
9 places to go in Kearney
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Kearney
9 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
1 lakes & rivers
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.
1.6 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
9.4 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
12Pickleball
9Baseball
2Basketball
2Football
2Soccer
1Tennis
1Equestrian
1Skate park
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →2 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
When to get out
April is the best month for walking in Kearney
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 | 66 | 75 | 84 | 88 | 87 | 79 | 67 | 54 | 42 |
| Rain (in) | 1.2 | 1.5 | 2.4 | 4.0 | 5.3 | 4.9 | 4.7 | 4.2 | 4.0 | 3.2 | 2.2 | 1.7 |
January is the driest month (1.2 in) and July the warmest (highs of 88 °F). 5.3 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 88 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Kearney →
Questions about parks and trails in Kearney
Where can I hike in Kearney?
The longest trail networks: Jesse James Park, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Kearney is conserved land?
2% 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 Kearney’s trails?
Jesse James Park and Mack Porter Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Kearney?
11 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.6 of painted or protected lanes and 9.4 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Kearney?
14,015 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Kearney or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 175 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Kearney have?
Ahead of 33% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #175 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 Kearney 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 →