Blees Park
Managed by City of Macon
41 acres0.6 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Catfilmnoir a.k.a. Carol Baier · CC BY-SA 2.0BOutdoors
Outdoors in Macon
Macon has 162 acres of parks, 30 for every 1,000 residents
93% of residents live within a half mile of a park. The biggest trail networks: Blees Park (0.6 mi). 1.2 miles of mapped trail cross Macon, 0.2 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 62% of U.S. towns · #67 of 247 in Missouri. What drives it
Conserved land
2%
80 acres · of 6.1 sq mi of land
Trails
1.2 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
162 ac
30 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
93%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
2
2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Macon?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Macon have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Macon is ahead of 62% of U.S. towns, #67 of 247 in Missouri. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Macon’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 (1 mi) · MO 0.3 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land30 acres of park per 1,000 residents (162 acres) · MO 11 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home93% 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 62%
LessMore
Missouri towns of 2,500+ (247)Ahead of 73%
Few Missouri towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Macon’s 2% is ahead of 52% of Missouri towns, while its trails per square mile lead 43% 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 Blees Park, with 0.6 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Macon County Fairgrounds
Managed by Macon County
45 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Stephens Park
Park
8 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 8 parks & preserves
Blees Park41 acres · 0.6 mi of trail · City of Macon
DirectionsMacon County Fairgrounds45 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · Macon County
DirectionsMacon Lake Park19 acres · City of Macon
DirectionsStephens Park8 acres
Jackson Street Park2 acres
Rubey Street Park2 acres
Greenbriar Park1 acres · City of Macon, Missouri
Rustic Park1 acres · City of Macon, Mo
Who protects it
80 conserved acres
2% of Macon’s land. Who manages Macon’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city80 ac
Local Park · 68 acLocal Recreation Area · 11 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Macon Lake Park Local Park | Town or city | 37 | Open |
| Blees Park Local Park | Town or city | 15 | Open |
| Don Schelle Ballfield Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 11 | Open |
| Stephens Park Local Park | Town or city | 9 | Open |
| Rustic Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Jackson Street Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Rubey Street Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Greenbriar Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
5 places to go in Macon
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Macon
3 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Macon
2 boat launches without a name on the map.
Trails & water
2 lakes & rivers
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
6Pickleball
5Baseball
3Tennis
1Equestrian
1Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →3 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
When to get out
The walking year in Macon
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) | 9.6 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 13.2 | 14.3 | 15.0 | 14.7 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 9.9 | 9.4 |
| High (°F) | 35 | 41 | 52 | 64 | 73 | 82 | 87 | 85 | 78 | 66 | 52 | 40 |
| Rain (in) | 1.6 | 1.9 | 2.8 | 4.4 | 5.5 | 5.2 | 4.7 | 4.1 | 3.8 | 3.4 | 2.6 | 1.9 |
January is the driest month (1.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 87 °F). 5.5 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 87 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Macon →
Questions about parks and trails in Macon
Where can I hike in Macon?
The longest trail networks: Blees Park, 0.6 miles; Macon County Fairgrounds, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Macon 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 Macon’s trails?
Blees Park and Macon County Fairgrounds don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Macon?
5,270 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Macon or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 162 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Macon have?
Ahead of 62% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #67 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 Macon 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 →