Crystal Lake Park
Park
13 acres0.7 mi of trail
Crystal Lake Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Waddell House · Photo: JERRYE & ROY KLOTZ MD · CC BY-SA 3.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Lexington
Lexington has 214 acres of parks, 46 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Crystal Lake Park (0.7 mi). 81% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 2.8 miles of mapped trail cross Lexington, 0.5 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 77% of U.S. towns · #27 of 247 in Missouri. What drives it
Conserved land
5%
165 acres · of 5.2 sq mi of land
Trails
2.8 mi
0.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
214 ac
46 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
81%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
4
2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Lexington?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Lexington have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Lexington is ahead of 77% of U.S. towns, #27 of 247 in Missouri. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; park acres per resident rank highest, conserved land lowest.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Lexington’s overall grade.
Conserved land5% of the land · typical MO town 2% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (3 mi) · MO 0.3 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land46 acres of park per 1,000 residents (214 acres) · MO 11 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home81% 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 77%
LessMore
Missouri towns of 2,500+ (247)Ahead of 89%
Few Missouri towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Lexington’s 5% is ahead of 82% of Missouri towns, while its trails per square mile lead 69% 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 Crystal Lake Park, with 0.7 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
City Park
Park
84 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
165 conserved acres
5% of Lexington’s land. Who manages Lexington’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city60 ac
Not recorded105 ac
State Historic or Cultural Area · 105 acLocal Park · 37 acLocal Recreation Area · 23 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Battle Of Lexington State Historic Site State Historic or Cultural Area | Not recorded | 105 | Open |
| Softball Fields Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 23 | Open |
| Lexington Water Park Local Park | Town or city | 20 | Open |
| Crystal Lake Park Local Park | Town or city | 13 | Open |
| College Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Irish Town Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
2 places to go in Lexington
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Boat launches in Lexington
Lexington Riverfront Park
DirectionsLexington Riverfront ParkIn Lexington Riverfront Park
DirectionsTrails & water
3 named trails and 4 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 1.0 miUnpaved · 2.0 mi
The Lexington Trail1.0 mi
Crystal Lake Trail0.7 mi
Battlefield Trail0.3 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Courts & fields
9Tennis
4Baseball
3Football
1Soccer
1Beach volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →23 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 3 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Anderson House and Lexington BattlefieldSite · listed 1969
About itLafayette County CourthouseBuilding · listed 1970
About itLinwood LawnBuilding · listed 1973
About itCumberland Presbyterian ChurchBuilding · listed 1978
About itWaddell HouseBuilding · listed 1979
About itWentworth Military AcademyDistrict · listed 1980
About itHicklin HearthstoneBuilding · listed 1982
About itHighland Avenue Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1983
About itOld Neighborhoods Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1983
About itCommercial Community Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1983
About itAlexander and Elizabeth Aull Graves HouseBuilding · listed 1993
About itD. W. B. and Julia Waddell Tevis HouseBuilding · listed 1993
About it11 more on the History page.
When to get out
April is the best month for walking in Lexington
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 | 43 | 55 | 65 | 75 | 84 | 88 | 87 | 79 | 67 | 53 | 42 |
| Rain (in) | 1.4 | 1.7 | 2.8 | 4.1 | 5.3 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 4.2 | 4.2 | 3.1 | 2.4 | 1.8 |
January is the driest month (1.4 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 Lexington →
Questions about parks and trails in Lexington
Where can I hike in Lexington?
The longest trail networks: Crystal Lake Park, 0.7 miles; City Park, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Lexington is conserved land?
5% 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 Lexington’s trails?
Crystal Lake Park and City Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Lexington?
600 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Lexington or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 214 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Lexington have?
Ahead of 77% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #27 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 Lexington 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 →