Photo: JDMcGreg · CC BY-SA 3.010% of Valley Park’s land is conserved, and virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park. 556 acres are parks and preserves, 82 per 1,000 residents. 3.9 miles of mapped trail cross Valley Park, 0.9 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 95% of U.S. towns · #4 of 247 in Missouri. What drives it
What kind of outdoors town is Valley Park?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
How much outdoors does Valley Park have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Valley Park is ahead of 95% of U.S. towns, #4 of 247 in Missouri. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of residents near a park ranks highest, conserved land lowest.
Few Missouri towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Valley Park’s 10% is ahead of 96% of Missouri towns, while its trails per square mile lead 88% of them.
Water is 12% of Valley Park’s area (1 of 5 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 9%.
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.
Pick a walk
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Meramec Levee Recreation Park
All 10 parks & preserves
288 conserved acres
10% of Valley Park’s land. Water is left out: Valley Park has 4.5 square miles of land and 0.6 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Valley Park’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Levee Trail Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 115 | Open |
| Meramec Landing Park Local Park | Town or city | 39 | Open |
| Meramac Greenway / River Walk Trail Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 36 | Open |
| Vance Trail Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 32 | Open |
| Buder County Park Local Park | County | 22 | Open |
| Castlewood State Park State Park | Not recorded | 18 | Open |
| Museum Of Transportation Local Historic or Cultural Area | County | 12 | Open |
| Arnold’S Grove Trail Head Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Open |
| Wedge Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Archery Range Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 2 | Open |
3 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
7 places to go in Valley Park
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
5 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
2 named trails and 3 lakes & rivers
7.3 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.
The walking year in Valley Park
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 | 13.2 | 14.3 | 14.8 | 14.6 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.0 | 9.5 |
| High (°F) | 41 | 46 | 57 | 68 | 77 | 85 | 89 | 88 | 81 | 69 | 56 | 45 |
| Rain (in) | 2.6 | 2.2 | 3.5 | 4.7 | 5.1 | 4.5 | 3.8 | 3.5 | 3.4 | 3.1 | 3.4 | 2.7 |
February is the driest month (2.2 in) and July the warmest (highs of 89 °F). 5.1 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 89 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Valley Park →
Valley Park and its neighbors
Valley Park has the most mapped trails of the 3 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Valley Park | 10% | 0.9 | 82 | 99%+ | A+ |
| Manchester | 2% | 0.2 | 4 | 81% | C+ |
| Twin Oaks | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Valley Park
Where can I hike in Valley Park?
The longest trail networks: Meramec Levee Recreation Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Valley Park is conserved land?
10% 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 Valley Park’s trails?
Simpson Park and Meramec Levee Recreation Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Valley Park?
7.3 miles of bike routes are on the map: 7.0 of off-road paths and 0.3 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Valley Park?
18,006 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Valley Park or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 556 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Valley Park have?
Ahead of 95% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #4 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 Valley Park 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 →