Lions Club Park
Managed by Rolla Lions Club
173 acres4.1 mi of trail
Lion's Club MTB Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: Stephenjayson · CC BY-SA 4.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Rolla
6% of Rolla’s land is conserved, and 98% of residents live within a half mile of a park
The biggest trail networks: Lions Club Park (4.1 mi). 580 acres are parks and preserves, 29 per 1,000 residents. 6% of Rolla’s land is conserved, about 476 acres.
Ahead of 82% of U.S. towns · #16 of 247 in Missouri. What drives it
Conserved land
6%
476 acres · of 12.1 sq mi of land
Trails
5.1 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
580 ac
29 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
98%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
18 mi
4.3 mi lanes · 7.4 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Rolla?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Rolla have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Rolla is ahead of 82% of U.S. towns, #16 of 247 in Missouri. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of residents near a park ranks highest, trail miles lowest.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Rolla’s overall grade.
Conserved land6% of the land · typical MO town 2% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (5 mi) · MO 0.3 · U.S. 0.4BPark land29 acres of park per 1,000 residents (580 acres) · MO 11 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home98% 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 82%
LessMore
Missouri towns of 2,500+ (247)Ahead of 94%
Few Missouri towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Rolla’s 6% is ahead of 89% of Missouri towns, while its trails per square mile lead 61% 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 Lions Club Park, with 4.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Ber Juan Park
Managed by City of Rolla
84 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Ponzer Park
Park
58 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Audubon Trails Nature Center
Managed by Audubon
54 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dogs usually not allowed
Directionsto Missouri S&T Lot KWebsite ↗
All 18 parks & preserves
Lions Club Park173 acres · 4.1 mi of trail · Rolla Lions Club
DirectionsBer Juan Park84 acres · 0.4 mi of trail · City of Rolla
DirectionsAudubon Trails Nature Center54 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · Audubon
DirectionsPonzer Park58 acres
Veterans Memorial Park21 acres
DirectionsSchuman Park16 acres
DirectionsSouthview Park11 acres
Green Acres Park10 acres
DirectionsBreuer Park7 acres · City of Rolla, Missouri
Industrial Park6 acres · City of Rolla, Missouri
Buehler Park3 acres
DirectionsHeritage Heights Park2 acres · City of Rolla
Northside Park2 acres · City of Rolla, Missouri
Ridgeview Park2 acres · City of Rolla
DirectionsTown and Country Park1 acres · City of Rolla, Missouri
Barnitz Park1 acres · City of Rolla, Missouri
Ann's Acres Park1 acres · City of Rolla, Missouri
Powell Park1 acres · City of Rolla, Missouri
Who protects it
476 conserved acres
6% of Rolla’s land. Who manages Rolla’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city253 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits206 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government9 ac
U.S. Forest Service6 ac
Local Park · 468 acNational Forest · 6 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lions Club Park Local Park | Land trusts & nonprofits | 151 | Open |
| Ber Juan Park Local Park | Town or city | 87 | Open |
| John J. Audubon Regional Nature And Artist Center Local Park | Land trusts & nonprofits | 56 | Open |
| South Park Local Park | Town or city | 33 | Open |
| Silverleaf Park Local Park | Town or city | 22 | Open |
| Veterans Park, Southview Park Local Park | Town or city | 19 | Open |
| Coventry Park Local Park | Town or city | 16 | Open |
| Southview Park Local Park | Town or city | 12 | Open |
| Green Acres Park Local Park | Town or city | 9 | Open |
| Bray'S Sports Complex Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 9 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
22 places to go in Rolla
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Rolla
Coventry Lane Park
DirectionsPlus 17 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Rolla
2 dog parks without a name on the map.
Disc golf in Rolla
Disc GolfIn Lions Club Park · Lions Club
DirectionsPlus 1 disc golf course without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
1 named trail and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 3.4 miUnpaved · 3.7 mi
Lion's Club MTB Trail3.4 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
18 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
4.3 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
7.4 mi
off-road bike paths
6.4 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
15Baseball
9Basketball
8Tennis
7Football
4Soccer
3Beach volleyball
2Volleyball
1Tracks
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →5 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 4 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Phelps County JailBuilding · listed 1990
About itPhelps County CourthouseBuilding · listed 1993
About itNational Bank of Rolla BuildingBuilding · listed 2001
About itRolla Ranger Station Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2003
About itHeadquarters, Rolla Division of the Bureau of MinesBuilding · listed 2017
About itWhen to get out
June is the best month for walking in Rolla
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) | 9.8 | 10.7 | 11.8 | 13.1 | 14.2 | 14.8 | 14.5 | 13.6 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.1 | 9.5 |
| High (°F) | 42 | 48 | 57 | 68 | 76 | 84 | 88 | 87 | 80 | 69 | 56 | 46 |
| Rain (in) | 2.5 | 2.4 | 3.8 | 4.7 | 5.3 | 4.2 | 4.2 | 4.1 | 3.9 | 3.3 | 3.7 | 2.6 |
February is the driest month (2.4 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 Rolla →
Questions about parks and trails in Rolla
Where can I hike in Rolla?
The longest trail networks: Lions Club Park, 4.1 miles; Ber Juan Park, 0.4 miles; Audubon Trails Nature Center, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Rolla is conserved land?
6% 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 Rolla’s trails?
Lions Club Park and Ber Juan Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Rolla?
18 miles of bike routes are on the map: 4.3 of painted or protected lanes, 7.4 of off-road paths and 6.4 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Rolla?
19,542 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Rolla or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 585 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Rolla have?
Ahead of 82% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #16 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 Rolla 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 →