City Park
Park
3 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Fredlyfish4 · CC BY-SA 4.0C+Outdoors
Outdoors in Water Valley
Water Valley has 52 acres of parks, 15 for every 1,000 residents
1% of Water Valley’s land is conserved, about 48 acres. 1.2 miles of mapped trail cross Water Valley, 0.2 per square mile of land. 61% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 39% of U.S. towns · #37 of 101 in Mississippi. What drives it
Conserved land
1%
48 acres · of 7.0 sq mi of land
Trails
1.2 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
52 ac
15 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
61%
of residents within ½ mile
What kind of outdoors town is Water Valley?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Water Valley have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Water Valley is ahead of 39% of U.S. towns, #37 of 101 in Mississippi. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
C+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Water Valley’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 (1 mi) · MS 0.1 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land15 acres of park per 1,000 residents (52 acres) · MS 8 · U.S. 13BParks close to home61% 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 39%
LessMore
Mississippi towns of 2,500+ (101)Ahead of 64%
Few Mississippi towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Water Valley’s 1% is ahead of 38% of Mississippi towns, while its trails per square mile lead 54% 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 City Park, with 0.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Railroad Park
Managed by City of Water Valley
1 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
48 conserved acres
1% of Water Valley’s land. Who manages Water Valley’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city48 ac
Local Recreation Area · 45 acLocal Park · 3 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crawford'S Sports Complex Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 45 | Open |
| Unknown Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
Things to do
1 places to go in Water Valley
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Water Valley
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
1 named trail
Named trails
Open to bikes · 0.8 miUnpaved · 0.8 mi
Yalobusha Greenway0.8 mi
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
6Baseball
3Tennis
1Softball
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
May is the best month for walking in Water Valley
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 | 11.3 | 10.3 | 9.9 |
| High (°F) | 53 | 57 | 66 | 74 | 82 | 89 | 91 | 91 | 86 | 76 | 64 | 55 |
| Rain (in) | 5.0 | 5.4 | 5.4 | 5.9 | 5.1 | 4.7 | 4.4 | 3.7 | 3.6 | 3.8 | 4.4 | 5.9 |
September is the driest month (3.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 91 °F). 5.9 inches fall in April, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 91 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Water Valley →
Questions about parks and trails in Water Valley
Where can I hike in Water Valley?
The longest trail networks: City Park, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Water Valley 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 Water Valley’s trails?
City Park and Railroad Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Water Valley?
1,420 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Water Valley or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 52 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Water Valley have?
Ahead of 39% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #37 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 Water Valley 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 →