Buddy Butts Park
Park
385 acres3.7 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: formulanone from Huntsville, United States · CC BY-SA 2.0B−Outdoors
Outdoors in Jackson
Jackson has 1,739 acres of parks, 12 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Buddy Butts Park (3.7 mi), Lefleur's Bluff State Park (2.5 mi), Claibourne Park (0.8 mi). 4% of Jackson’s land is conserved, about 3,178 acres. 52% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 48% of U.S. towns · #24 of 101 in Mississippi. What drives it
Conserved land
4%
3,178 acres · of 111.7 sq mi of land
Trails
27 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,739 ac
12 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
52%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
8.5 mi
4.6 mi lanes · 3.0 mi paths
Highest peak
364 ft
Bailey Hill
Lakes & rivers
9
17 beaches · 2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Jackson?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Jackson have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Jackson is ahead of 48% of U.S. towns, #24 of 101 in Mississippi. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Jackson’s overall grade.
Conserved land4% of the land · typical MS town 2% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (27 mi) · MS 0.1 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land12 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,739 acres) · MS 8 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to home52% 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 48%
LessMore
Mississippi towns of 2,500+ (101)Ahead of 77%
Among the 400 U.S. cities of 100,000 or more, Jackson ranks #362 on Outdoors.
Few Mississippi towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Jackson’s 4% is ahead of 69% of Mississippi towns, while its trails per square mile lead 73% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ 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.
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 Buddy Butts Park, with 3.7 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Lefleur's Bluff State Park
Park
366 acres2.5 mi of trail
Nature TrailLakeland Terrace
Dogs on leash
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Claibourne Park
Park
15 acres0.8 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 26 parks & preserves
Buddy Butts Park385 acres · 3.7 mi of trail
Lefleur's Bluff State Park366 acres · 2.5 mi of trail
DirectionsClaibourne Park15 acres · 0.8 mi of trail
Grove Park24 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsMARL DOG PARK50 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
Belhaven Heights Park2 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
Sykes Park22 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsLaurel Park16 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · City of Jackson
Jackson Art Park1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsBelhaven Park1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Battlefield Park51 acres
DirectionsForest Hill Park34 acres
Manhattan Park21 acres
Parham Bridges' Park17 acres
Sheppard Brothers Park15 acres
DirectionsLakeland Park14 acres
Jayne Avenue Park12 acres
DirectionsPresidential Hills Park10 acres
DirectionsAlta Woods Park10 acres
Flowers Park7 acres
Poindexter Park7 acres
Riverside Park7 acres
Smith Park2 acres
DirectionsTougaloo Park2 acres
Jaycee Park2 acres
Medgar and Myrlie Evers Home National Monument1 acres
Who protects it
3,178 conserved acres
4% of Jackson’s land. Who manages Jackson’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State land board1,583 ac
Town or city755 ac
State parks488 ac
National Park Service317 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)25 ac
Other or Unknown Federal Land21 ac
Other state land19 ac
State Resource Management Area · 1,583 acLocal Park · 755 acState Park · 488 acSpecial Designation Area · 295 acRecreation or Education Easement · 43 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 47 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
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 | 1,583 | Open |
| Lefleur's Bluff State Park State Park | State parks | 488 | Open |
| Natchez Trace Parkway Special Designation Area | National Park Service | 295 | Restricted |
| Presidential Hills Local Park | Town or city | 145 | Open |
| Forest Hill Local Park | Town or city | 96 | Open |
| Battlefield Local Park | Town or city | 66 | Open |
| Buddy Butts Park Local Park | Town or city | 62 | Open |
| Legion Local Park | Town or city | 55 | Open |
| Parham Bridges Local Park | Town or city | 23 | Open |
| Police Local Park | Town or city | 23 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
86 places to go in Jackson
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Jackson
Belhaven Beach
DirectionsGatorland Beach
DirectionsPlus 15 beaches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Playgrounds in Jackson
34 playgrounds are on OpenStreetMap in all; the list shows named ones from the first 30.
Boat launches in Jackson
2 boat launches without a name on the map.
Peaks in Jackson
Bailey Hill364 ft elevation
DirectionsPicnic areas in Jackson
1 picnic area without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Campgrounds in Jackson
Lefleur's Bluff State ParkFee · In Lefleur's Bluff State Park
Directions31 campgrounds are on OpenStreetMap in all; the list shows named ones from the first 30.
Trails & water
2 named trails and 9 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 3.5 miUnpaved · 10.1 mi
Nature Trail1.9 mi
Museum to Market Trail1.6 mi
Biking & sports
8.5 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
4.6 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
3.0 mi
off-road bike paths
0.9 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
143Tennis
57Baseball
9Basketball
8Football
5Soccer
3Multi-sport
2Beach volleyball
2Pickleball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →80 places on the National Register, 5 of them National Historic Landmarks
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.
City HallBuilding · listed 1969
About itCapitol GreenSite · listed 1969
About itManship HouseBuilding · listed 1972
About itOaks, TheBuilding · listed 1973
About itMillsaps-Buie HouseBuilding · listed 1973
About itBailey Hill Civil War EarthworksSite · listed 1975
About itCentral Fire StationBuilding · listed 1975
About it68 more on the History page.
When to get out
May is the best month for walking in Jackson
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 | 11.0 | 11.9 | 12.9 | 13.8 | 14.3 | 14.1 | 13.3 | 12.3 | 11.3 | 10.5 | 10.0 |
| High (°F) | 58 | 62 | 70 | 77 | 84 | 89 | 92 | 92 | 88 | 78 | 67 | 60 |
| Rain (in) | 5.5 | 5.3 | 5.8 | 5.8 | 4.3 | 4.4 | 4.6 | 4.5 | 3.6 | 3.6 | 4.5 | 5.5 |
September is the driest month (3.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 92 °F). 5.8 inches fall in March, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 92 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Jackson →
Next door
Jackson and its neighbors
Jackson has the most mapped trails of the 7 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jackson | 4% | 0.2 | 12 | 52% | B− |
| Flowood | 7% | 0.5 | 18 | 37% | B |
| Byram | 5% | 0.1 | under 1 | 1% | C− |
| Clinton | 7% | 0.1 | 8 | 47% | C+ |
| Ridgeland | 8% | 0.2 | 38 | 57% | B |
| Richland | under 1% | 0.1 | 5 | 54% | C− |
| Pearl | 4% | 0.2 | 6 | 34% | C |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Jackson
Where can I hike in Jackson?
The longest trail networks: Buddy Butts Park, 3.7 miles; Lefleur's Bluff State Park, 2.5 miles; Claibourne Park, 0.8 miles; Grove Park, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Jackson is conserved land?
4% 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 Jackson’s trails?
OpenStreetMap records dogs as welcome at Lefleur's Bluff State Park (on leash). For the rest, check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Jackson?
8.5 miles of bike routes are on the map: 4.6 of painted or protected lanes, 3.0 of off-road paths and 0.9 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Jackson?
3,964 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Jackson or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,739 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Jackson have?
Ahead of 48% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #24 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 Jackson 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 →