Westside Park
Park
25 acres0.6 mi of trail
Whitetail TrailBlack Eyed Susan TrailSquirrel Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Stone, John M., Cotton Mill · Photo: rossograph · CC BY-SA 4.0C+Outdoors
Outdoors in Starkville
Starkville has 182 acres of parks, 7.1 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Westside Park (0.6 mi). 5% of Starkville’s land is conserved, about 817 acres. 3.5 miles of mapped trail cross Starkville, 0.1 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 40% of U.S. towns · #34 of 101 in Mississippi. What drives it
Conserved land
5%
817 acres · of 27.8 sq mi of land
Trails
3.5 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
182 ac
7.1 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
60%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
6.1 mi
2.3 mi lanes · 3.8 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Starkville?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Starkville have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Starkville is ahead of 40% of U.S. towns, #34 of 101 in Mississippi. Conserved land holds the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
C+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Starkville’s overall grade.
Conserved land5% of the land · typical MS town 2% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (4 mi) · MS 0.1 · U.S. 0.4CPark land7.1 acres of park per 1,000 residents (182 acres) · MS 8 · U.S. 13C+Parks close to home60% 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 40%
LessMore
Mississippi towns of 2,500+ (101)Ahead of 67%
Few Mississippi towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Starkville’s 5% is ahead of 70% of Mississippi towns, while its trails per square mile lead 46% 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 Westside Park, with 0.6 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Babe Ruth Park
Park
36 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 9 parks & preserves
Westside Park25 acres · 0.6 mi of trail
McKee Park36 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsMoncrief Park6 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsBabe Ruth Park36 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Starkville Parks and Rec Sports Plex63 acres
DirectionsOverstreet Elementary Park3 acres
George Evans Park2 acres
Patriots Park1 acres
Fire Station Park1 acres · Starkville Parks and Recreation Department
Who protects it
817 conserved acres
5% of Starkville’s land. Who manages Starkville’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State land board648 ac
Town or city169 ac
State Resource Management Area · 648 acLocal Recreation Area · 99 acLocal Park · 70 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 | 648 | Open |
| Sportsplex Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 63 | Open |
| Mckee Park Local Park | Town or city | 35 | Open |
| Babe Ruth Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 35 | Open |
| J.L. King Senior Memorial Park Local Park | Town or city | 20 | Open |
| Moncrief Park Local Park | Town or city | 7 | Open |
| Jaycee Field Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| George Evans Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
| Patriot'S Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
10 places to go in Starkville
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in Starkville
Cotton District Pool
DirectionsMoncrief Park PoolIn Moncrief Park
DirectionsPlus 1 public pool without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Starkville
4 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Starkville
Starkville Dog ParkIn Moncrief Park
DirectionsPlus 1 dog park without a name on the map.
Disc golf in Starkville
J.L King Disc Golf CourseIn Westside Park
DirectionsTrails & water
3 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 2.0 miUnpaved · 2.1 mi
Whitetail Trail0.7 mi
Black Eyed Susan Trail0.7 mi
Squirrel Trail0.5 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
6.1 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
2.3 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
3.8 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
18Tennis
17Baseball
4Basketball
3Soccer
1Football
1Beach volleyball
1Volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →19 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 5 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Stone, John M., Cotton MillBuilding · listed 1975
About itLampkin-Owens HouseBuilding · listed 1980
About itGreensboro Street Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1982
About itMagruder-Newsom HouseBuilding · listed 1984
About itHotel ChesterBuilding · listed 1985
About itCedars, TheBuilding · listed 1985
About itGillespie-Jackson HouseBuilding · listed 1986
About itWalker-Critz HouseBuilding · listed 1989
About itOdd Fellows CemeterySite · listed 1990
About itC. E. Gay HouseBuilding · listed 1991
About itThomas Battle Carroll HouseBuilding · listed 1991
About itBardwell HouseBuilding · listed 1992
About it7 more on the History page.
When to get out
May is the best month for walking in Starkville
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 | 67 | 75 | 83 | 89 | 91 | 91 | 87 | 76 | 65 | 57 |
| Rain (in) | 5.2 | 5.8 | 5.4 | 6.0 | 4.3 | 4.3 | 4.7 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 3.7 | 4.5 | 5.6 |
October is the driest month (3.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 91 °F). 6.0 inches fall in April, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 91 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Starkville →
Next door
Starkville and its neighbors
Starkville 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starkville | 5% | 0.1 | 7 | 60% | C+ |
| Mississippi State | 1% | 0.3 | 5 | 97% | B− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Starkville
Where can I hike in Starkville?
The longest trail networks: Westside Park, 0.6 miles; McKee Park, 0.2 miles; Babe Ruth Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Starkville 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 Starkville’s trails?
Westside Park and Starkville Parks and Rec Sports Plex don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Starkville?
6.1 miles of bike routes are on the map: 2.3 of painted or protected lanes and 3.8 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Starkville?
239 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Starkville or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 182 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Starkville have?
Ahead of 40% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #34 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 Starkville 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 →