Springfield has 38 miles of mapped trails, 0.4 for every square mile of land
The biggest trail networks: Nature Center Park (2.7 mi), Dickerson Park Zoo (2.3 mi), Lake Springfield Park (2.2 mi). 75% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 2% of Springfield’s land is conserved, about 1,227 acres.
Ahead of 52% of U.S. towns · #113 of 247 in Missouri. What drives it
Conserved land
2%
1,227 acres · of 83.3 sq mi of land
Trails
38 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,594 ac
9.4 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
75%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
103 mi
22 mi lanes · 25 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
11
1 beach · 1 boat launch
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Springfield have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Springfield is ahead of 52% of U.S. towns, #113 of 247 in Missouri. Trail miles hold the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
B−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Springfield’s overall grade.
Among the 400 U.S. cities of 100,000 or more, Springfield ranks #350 on Outdoors.
Few Missouri towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Springfield’s 2% is ahead of 59% of Missouri towns, while its trails per square mile lead 65% 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.
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
22 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
25 mi
off-road bike paths
57 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
117Tennis
51Soccer
49Baseball
39Basketball
30Pickleball
10Multi-sport
9Football
7Volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
65 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 2 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
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)
9.9
10.8
11.9
13.1
14.1
14.7
14.5
13.6
12.4
11.2
10.1
9.6
High (°F)
43
48
58
68
76
84
88
88
80
69
57
46
Rain (in)
2.4
2.4
3.7
4.7
5.6
4.5
4.0
3.5
4.3
3.6
3.5
2.7
February is the driest month (2.4 in) and July the warmest (highs of 88 °F). 5.6 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 88 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Springfield →
Next door
Springfield and its neighbors
Springfield has the most mapped trails of the 3 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Springfield
Where can I hike in Springfield?
The longest trail networks: Nature Center Park, 2.7 miles; Dickerson Park Zoo, 2.3 miles; Lake Springfield Park, 2.2 miles; Nathanael Greene Park, 1.6 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Springfield 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 Springfield’s trails?
Nature Center Park and Dickerson Park Zoo don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Springfield?
103 miles of bike routes are on the map: 22 of painted or protected lanes, 25 of off-road paths and 57 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Springfield?
6,464 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Springfield or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,594 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Springfield have?
Ahead of 52% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #113 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 Springfield neighbors.
Photo: Raschmidt87 · CC BY-SA 4.0