Emmeneger Nature Park
Park
95 acres2.4 mi of trail
Bluff Creek Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Paul Sableman · CC BY 2.0B−Outdoors
Outdoors in Kirkwood
Kirkwood has 304 acres of parks, 10 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Emmeneger Nature Park (2.4 mi), Kirkwood City Park (0.7 mi), Powder Valley Conservation Nature Center (0.7 mi). 80% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 4.4 miles of mapped trail cross Kirkwood, 0.5 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 50% of U.S. towns · #119 of 247 in Missouri. What drives it
Conserved land
1%
65 acres · of 9.2 sq mi of land
Trails
4.4 mi
0.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
304 ac
10 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
80%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
12 mi
3.0 mi lanes · 2.6 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Kirkwood?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Kirkwood have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Kirkwood is ahead of 50% of U.S. towns, #119 of 247 in Missouri. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
B−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Kirkwood’s overall grade.
Conserved land1% of the land · typical MO town 2% · U.S. 4%CTrails0.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (4 mi) · MO 0.3 · U.S. 0.4BPark land10 acres of park per 1,000 residents (304 acres) · MO 11 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to home80% 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 50%
LessMore
Missouri towns of 2,500+ (247)Ahead of 52%
Few Missouri towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Kirkwood’s 1% is ahead of 30% of Missouri towns, while its trails per square mile lead 67% 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 Emmeneger Nature Park, with 2.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Kirkwood City Park
Park
90 acres0.7 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Powder Valley Conservation Nature Center
Nature preserve
44 acres0.7 mi of trail
Broken Ridge Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trailhead
All 9 parks & preserves
Emmeneger Nature Park95 acres · 2.4 mi of trail
DirectionsKirkwood City Park90 acres · 0.7 mi of trail
DirectionsPowder Valley Conservation Nature Center44 acres · 0.7 mi of trail
DirectionsDee Koestering Park10 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsGreentree Park93 acres
DirectionsFireman's Park4 acres
Fillmore Park1 acres
McEntee Memorial Park1 acres
DirectionsWalker Park1 acres
Who protects it
65 conserved acres
1% of Kirkwood’s land. Who manages Kirkwood’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city16 ac
County5 ac
Not recorded43 ac
Research or Educational Area · 43 acLocal Recreation Area · 14 acLocal Park · 7 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Powder Valley Conservation Nature Center Research or Educational Area | Not recorded | 43 | Restricted |
| Dee Koestering Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 9 | Open |
| Grants Trail Local Recreation Area | County | 5 | Open |
| Firemens Memorial Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Meacham Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
| Fillmore Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
| Mcentee Memorial Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
15 places to go in Kirkwood
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in Kirkwood
Villa di Maria pool
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Kirkwood
Filmore Park PlaygroundIn Fillmore Park
DirectionsPlus 11 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Kirkwood
1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Community gardens in Kirkwood
1 community garden without a name on the map.
Trails & water
2 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Bluff Creek Trail0.9 mi
Broken Ridge Trail0.7 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
12 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
3.0 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
2.6 mi
off-road bike paths
6.4 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
17Tennis
16Pickleball
12Baseball
9Soccer
6Basketball
6Tracks
2Football
2Lacrosse
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →29 places 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.
Barretts TunnelsDistrict · listed 1978
About itGrace Episcopal ChurchBuilding · listed 1982
About itMudd's GroveBuilding · listed 1984
About itKirkwood Missouri Pacific DepotBuilding · listed 1985
About itRussell and Ruth Goetz Kraus HouseBuilding · listed 1997
About itJ. Milton Turner SchoolBuilding · listed 2002
About itDavid Keith HouseBuilding · listed 2002
About itEgbert W. Halsey CottageBuilding · listed 2002
About itG.W. Tolhurst HouseBuilding · listed 2002
About itGeorge W. and Virginia Fishback HouseBuilding · listed 2002
About itJames H. and Marietta Comfort HouseBuilding · listed 2002
About itJohn P. and Dora Blake HouseBuilding · listed 2002
About it17 more on the History page.
When to get out
The walking year in Kirkwood
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 | 14.8 | 14.6 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.0 | 9.5 |
| High (°F) | 41 | 46 | 56 | 68 | 77 | 85 | 89 | 88 | 81 | 69 | 56 | 45 |
| Rain (in) | 2.6 | 2.2 | 3.5 | 4.7 | 5.0 | 4.5 | 3.8 | 3.5 | 3.4 | 3.1 | 3.4 | 2.7 |
February is the driest month (2.2 in) and July the warmest (highs of 89 °F). 5.0 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 89 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Kirkwood →
Next door
Kirkwood and its neighbors
Kirkwood has the second most mapped trails of the 7 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Sunset Hills23 miKirkwood4.4 miCrestwood4.0 miGlendale1.7 miDes Peres0.4 miOakland0.1 miWarson Woods0.0 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kirkwood | 1% | 0.5 | 10 | 80% | B− |
| Des Peres | 3% | 0.1 | 8 | 72% | C+ |
| Glendale | under 1% | 1.3 | under 1 | 80% | C+ |
| Sunset Hills | 5% | 2.6 | 30 | 50% | A− |
| Warson Woods | 1% | under 0.1 | 3 | 74% | C− |
| Oakland | 1% | 0.2 | 2 | 99%+ | C+ |
| Crestwood | 6% | 1.1 | 12 | 99% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Kirkwood
Where can I hike in Kirkwood?
The longest trail networks: Emmeneger Nature Park, 2.4 miles; Kirkwood City Park, 0.7 miles; Powder Valley Conservation Nature Center, 0.7 miles; Dee Koestering Park, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Kirkwood is conserved land?
1% 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 Kirkwood’s trails?
Emmeneger Nature Park and Kirkwood City Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Kirkwood?
12 miles of bike routes are on the map: 3.0 of painted or protected lanes, 2.6 of off-road paths and 6.4 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Kirkwood?
20,568 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Kirkwood or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 304 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Kirkwood have?
Ahead of 50% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #119 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 Kirkwood 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 →