Propst Park
Park
86 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Charles McLaran House · Photo: Jack Boucher · Public domainCOutdoors
Outdoors in Columbus
Columbus has 155 acres of parks, 6.6 for every 1,000 residents
1.1 miles of mapped trail cross Columbus. 20% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 5% of Columbus’ land is conserved, about 799 acres.
Ahead of 25% of U.S. towns · #66 of 101 in Mississippi. What drives it
Conserved land
5%
799 acres · of 25.1 sq mi of land
Trails
1.1 mi
0.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
155 ac
6.6 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
20%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
2.7 mi
2.7 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
2
What kind of outdoors town is Columbus?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Columbus have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Columbus is ahead of 25% of U.S. towns, #66 of 101 in Mississippi. Conserved land holds the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
C
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Columbus’ overall grade.
Conserved land5% of the land · typical MS town 2% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · MS 0.1 · U.S. 0.4C−Park land6.6 acres of park per 1,000 residents (155 acres) · MS 8 · U.S. 13C+Parks close to home20% of residents within a half mile of a park · MS 46% · U.S. 72%C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 25%
LessMore
Mississippi towns of 2,500+ (101)Ahead of 35%
Few Mississippi towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Columbus’ 5% is ahead of 73% of Mississippi towns, while its trails per square mile lead 20% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C. 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 Propst Park, with 0.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
799 conserved acres
5% of Columbus’ land. Who manages Columbus’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State land board653 ac
Town or city146 ac
State Resource Management Area · 653 acLocal Recreation Area · 81 acLocal Park · 65 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mississippi 16th Section Public School Trust Lands State Resource Management Area | State land board | 653 | Open |
| Columbus Propst Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 81 | Open |
| Columbus East Bank Recreation Local Park | Town or city | 44 | Open |
| Lee Park Local Park | Town or city | 14 | Open |
| Sims Scott Park Local Park | Town or city | 7 | Open |
Things to do
3 places to go in Columbus
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Columbus
Lee Park
DirectionsPlus 2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
2 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
2.7 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
2.7 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
38Tennis
27Baseball
4Basketball
2Football
1Softball
1Soccer
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →26 places on the National Register, one a National Historic Landmark
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
S. D. Lee HouseBuilding · listed 1971
About itHickory SticksBuilding · listed 1977
About itKenneth Gatchell HouseBuilding · listed 1978
About itBrownrigg-Harris-Kennebrew HouseBuilding · listed 1978
About itSnowdounBuilding · listed 1978
About itHarris-Banks HouseBuilding · listed 1978
About itWeaver PlaceBuilding · listed 1978
About itSymons HouseBuilding · listed 1979
About itCedars, TheBuilding · listed 1979
About itColumbus Central Commercial Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1980
About itFriendship CemeterySite · listed 1980
About it14 more on the History page.
When to get out
May is the best month for walking in Columbus
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) | 10.2 | 10.9 | 11.9 | 13.0 | 13.9 | 14.4 | 14.2 | 13.4 | 12.3 | 11.3 | 10.4 | 9.9 |
| High (°F) | 54 | 59 | 68 | 76 | 83 | 89 | 92 | 92 | 87 | 77 | 65 | 57 |
| Rain (in) | 5.2 | 5.5 | 5.4 | 5.8 | 4.4 | 4.1 | 4.6 | 3.8 | 3.4 | 3.6 | 4.3 | 5.6 |
September is the driest month (3.4 in) and July the warmest (highs of 92 °F). 5.8 inches fall in April, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 92 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Columbus →
Questions about parks and trails in Columbus
Where can I hike in Columbus?
The longest trail networks: Propst Park, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Columbus is conserved land?
5% of its land, against a typical 2% for a Mississippi town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Columbus’ trails?
Propst Park doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Columbus?
2.7 miles of bike routes are on the map: 2.7 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Columbus?
990 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Columbus or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 155 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Columbus have?
Ahead of 25% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #66 of 101 in Mississippi. 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 Columbus 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 →