Gardiner Park
Park
10 acres0.5 mi of trail
Gardiner Park Walking Path
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Michlaovic · Public domainC+Outdoors
Outdoors in Laurel
Laurel has 216 acres of parks, 12 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Gardiner Park (0.5 mi). 65% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 5.6 miles of mapped trail cross Laurel, 0.3 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 41% of U.S. towns · #32 of 101 in Mississippi. What drives it
Conserved land
1%
89 acres · of 18.5 sq mi of land
Trails
5.6 mi
0.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
216 ac
12 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
65%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
2
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Laurel have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Laurel is ahead of 41% of U.S. towns, #32 of 101 in Mississippi. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
C+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Laurel’s overall grade.
Conserved land1% of the land · typical MS town 2% · U.S. 4%CTrails0.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (6 mi) · MS 0.1 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land12 acres of park per 1,000 residents (216 acres) · MS 8 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to home65% of residents within a half mile of a park · MS 46% · U.S. 72%B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 41%
LessMore
Mississippi towns of 2,500+ (101)Ahead of 69%
Few Mississippi towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Laurel’s 1% is ahead of 28% of Mississippi towns, while its trails per square mile lead 80% 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 Gardiner Park, with 0.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Mason Memorial Park
Park
26 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Warren Rayburn Sr. Sports Fields
Park
25 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 9 parks & preserves
Gardiner Park10 acres · 0.5 mi of trail
Daphne Park16 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsLaurel Sportsplex91 acres
DirectionsMason Memorial Park26 acres
Warren Rayburn Sr. Sports Fields25 acres
Euclid Park6 acres
Seventh Avenue Park5 acres
Northwood Park3 acres
DirectionsCotton Mill Park1 acres
Who protects it
89 conserved acres
1% of Laurel’s land. Who manages Laurel’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city88 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government1 ac
Local Park · 89 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mason Memorial Park Local Park | Town or city | 33 | Open |
| Boston Park Local Park | Town or city | 21 | Open |
| Daphne Park Local Park | Town or city | 17 | Open |
| Gardiner Park Local Park | Town or city | 10 | Open |
| Seventh Avenue Park Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| Beacon Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 1 | Open |
| Cotton Mill Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
3 places to go in Laurel
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Laurel
3 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
1 named trail and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Gardiner Park Walking Path0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Courts & fields
27Tennis
16Baseball
12Soccer
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →8 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 1 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Newell Rogers HouseBuilding · listed 1987
About itNew Orleans and Northeastern Railroad DepotBuilding · listed 1995
About itWilliam H. and Marian D. Mason HouseBuilding · listed 2017
About itOak Park School ComplexDistrict · listed 2020
About itSouthside Neighborhood Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2020
About itLaurel Central Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2021
About itLamar Elementary SchoolBuilding · listed 2023
About itEvans House and BarnBuilding · listed 2025
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Laurel: April and May
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) | 10.3 | 11.0 | 11.9 | 12.9 | 13.8 | 14.2 | 14.0 | 13.3 | 12.3 | 11.3 | 10.5 | 10.1 |
| High (°F) | 59 | 64 | 71 | 78 | 85 | 90 | 92 | 92 | 88 | 79 | 69 | 62 |
| Rain (in) | 5.7 | 5.4 | 5.8 | 5.3 | 4.3 | 5.3 | 5.5 | 5.1 | 3.9 | 3.7 | 4.1 | 5.5 |
October is the driest month (3.7 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 Laurel →
Next door
Laurel and its neighbors
Laurel has the most mapped trails of the 2 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Laurel | 1% | 0.3 | 12 | 65% | C+ |
| Ellisville | under 1% | 0.2 | 7 | 58% | C− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Laurel
Where can I hike in Laurel?
The longest trail networks: Gardiner Park, 0.5 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Laurel is conserved land?
1% 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 Laurel’s trails?
Gardiner Park and Laurel Sportsplex don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Laurel?
8,547 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Laurel or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 216 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Laurel have?
Ahead of 41% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #32 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 Laurel 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 →