Photo: Roastedbeanz1 · CC BY 4.0Waveland has 397 acres of parks, 56 for every 1,000 residents
9% of Waveland’s land is conserved, about 498 acres. 0.2 miles of mapped trail cross Waveland. 52% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 55% of U.S. towns · #17 of 101 in Mississippi. What drives it
How much outdoors does Waveland have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Waveland is ahead of 55% of U.S. towns, #17 of 101 in Mississippi. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
Few Mississippi towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Waveland’s 9% is ahead of 86% of Mississippi towns, while its trails per square mile lead 17% of them.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Pick a walk
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
498 conserved acres
9% of Waveland’s land. Who manages Waveland’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buccaneer State Park State Park | State parks | 399 | Open |
| Mississippi 16th Section Public School Trust Lands State Resource Management Area | State land board | 298 | Open |
| Grand Bayou Coastal Reserve State Conservation Area | Other state land | 84 | Restricted |
| Bayou Lacroix Coastal Reserve State Conservation Area | Other state land | 8 | Restricted |
| Elmwood Memorial Park Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Open |
| Martin Luther Kind Jr Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
| Gex Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
9 places to go in Waveland
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
2 beaches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
6 playgrounds without a name on the map.
1 campground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
1 lakes & rivers
2.6 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
The best walking months in Waveland: 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) | 10.4 | 11.1 | 11.9 | 12.9 | 13.7 | 14.1 | 13.9 | 13.2 | 12.3 | 11.4 | 10.6 | 10.2 |
| High (°F) | 61 | 64 | 70 | 76 | 83 | 88 | 90 | 90 | 86 | 79 | 69 | 63 |
| Rain (in) | 5.4 | 4.5 | 5.3 | 5.3 | 5.2 | 6.5 | 7.5 | 6.7 | 5.2 | 3.7 | 4.1 | 4.8 |
October is the driest month (3.7 in) and August the warmest (highs of 90 °F). 7.5 inches fall in July, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 90 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Waveland →
Waveland and its neighbors
Waveland has the second 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waveland | 9% | under 0.1 | 56 | 52% | B− |
| Bay St. Louis | 9% | 0.5 | 7 | 73% | B |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Waveland
How much of Waveland is conserved land?
9% 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 Waveland’s trails?
Buccaneer State Park doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Waveland?
2.6 miles of bike routes are on the map: 2.6 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Waveland?
545 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Waveland or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 397 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Waveland have?
Ahead of 55% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #17 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 Waveland neighbors.
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 →