Park Along the River and Mississippi Arboretum
Park
97 acres2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0C+Outdoors
Outdoors in New Albany
New Albany has 203 acres of parks, 26 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Park Along the River and Mississippi Arboretum (2 mi). 32% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 1% of New Albany’s land is conserved, about 124 acres.
Ahead of 37% of U.S. towns · #42 of 101 in Mississippi. What drives it
Conserved land
1%
124 acres · of 18.2 sq mi of land
Trails
3.6 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
203 ac
26 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
32%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
4.2 mi
4.2 mi paths
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does New Albany have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, New Albany is ahead of 37% of U.S. towns, #42 of 101 in Mississippi. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
C+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of New Albany’s overall grade.
Conserved land1% of the land · typical MS town 2% · U.S. 4%CTrails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (4 mi) · MS 0.1 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land26 acres of park per 1,000 residents (203 acres) · MS 8 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home32% 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 37%
LessMore
Mississippi towns of 2,500+ (101)Ahead of 59%
Few Mississippi towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so New Albany’s 1% is ahead of 37% of Mississippi towns, while its trails per square mile lead 59% 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 Park Along the River and Mississippi Arboretum, with 2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Shady Dell Park
Park
25 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
124 conserved acres
1% of New Albany’s land. Who manages New Albany’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city124 ac
Local Park · 124 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Center States Leagues Park Local Park | Town or city | 73 | Open |
| Park Along The River Local Park | Town or city | 40 | Open |
| Shady Dell Park Local Park | Town or city | 10 | Open |
| Alabama Street Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
2 places to go in New Albany
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in New Albany
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Picnic areas in New Albany
1 picnic area without a name on the map.
Trails & water
1 named trail
Named trails
Jamie Cove0.3 mi
Biking & sports
4.2 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
4.2 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
14Tennis
12Baseball
4Soccer
1Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →3 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
When to get out
The best walking months in New Albany: 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) | 10.1 | 10.9 | 11.9 | 13.0 | 13.9 | 14.4 | 14.2 | 13.4 | 12.3 | 11.2 | 10.3 | 9.9 |
| High (°F) | 52 | 56 | 65 | 74 | 81 | 88 | 91 | 90 | 85 | 75 | 63 | 54 |
| Rain (in) | 4.9 | 5.4 | 5.3 | 5.6 | 5.3 | 4.9 | 4.4 | 4.0 | 3.7 | 3.9 | 4.3 | 6.1 |
September is the driest month (3.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 91 °F). 6.1 inches fall in December, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 91 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in New Albany →
Questions about parks and trails in New Albany
Where can I hike in New Albany?
The longest trail networks: Park Along the River and Mississippi Arboretum, 2 miles; Shady Dell Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of New Albany 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 New Albany’s trails?
Park Along the River and Mississippi Arboretum and Shady Dell Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in New Albany?
4.2 miles of bike routes are on the map: 4.2 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near New Albany?
7,664 acres of parks and open public land lie inside New Albany or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 203 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does New Albany have?
Ahead of 37% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #42 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 New Albany 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 →