Photo: Doug Kerr · CC BY-SA 2.0St. James has 9.4 miles of mapped trails, 2.2 for every square mile of land
86 acres are parks and preserves, 22 per 1,000 residents. 78% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 3% of St. James’ land is conserved, about 84 acres.
Ahead of 79% of U.S. towns · #24 of 247 in Missouri. What drives it
What kind of outdoors town is St. James?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
How much outdoors does St. James have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, St. James is ahead of 79% of U.S. towns, #24 of 247 in Missouri. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; trail miles rank highest, conserved land lowest.
Few Missouri towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so St. James’ 3% is ahead of 69% of Missouri towns, while its trails per square mile lead 99% of them.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
84 conserved acres
3% of St. James’ land. Who manages St. James’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. James Park Local Park | Land trusts & nonprofits | 45 | Open |
| Hart Park Local Park | Town or city | 33 | Open |
| Tourist Center Park Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
1 places to go in St. James
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
8 named trails
3.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
June is the best month for walking in St. James
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 | 14.6 | 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 | 4.6 | 5.2 | 4.3 | 4.1 | 4.0 | 3.8 | 3.3 | 3.6 | 2.6 |
February is the driest month (2.4 in) and July the warmest (highs of 88 °F). 5.2 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 88 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in St. James →
Questions about parks and trails in St. James
How much of St. James is conserved land?
3% 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.
Where can I bike in St. James?
3.0 miles of bike routes are on the map: 3.0 of off-road paths. Named routes: Forest City Glade Runner Trail.
Is there public land near St. James?
749 acres of parks and open public land lie inside St. James or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 86 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does St. James have?
Ahead of 79% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #24 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 St. James neighbors.
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 →