Wiggenhorn Memorial Park
Park
5 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Barnes Oil Company · Photo: Ammodramus · CC0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Ashland
6% of Ashland’s land is conserved, and virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park. 2.8 miles of mapped trail cross Ashland, 2.0 per square mile of land. 6% of Ashland’s land is conserved, about 48 acres.
Ahead of 90% of U.S. towns · #3 of 57 in Nebraska. What drives it
Conserved land
6%
48 acres · of 1.4 sq mi of land
Trails
2.8 mi
2.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
48 ac
16 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.7 mi
0.7 mi paths
What kind of outdoors town is Ashland?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Ashland have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Ashland is ahead of 90% of U.S. towns, #3 of 57 in Nebraska. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; trail miles rank highest, park acres per resident lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Ashland’s overall grade.
Conserved land6% of the land · typical NE town 4% · U.S. 4%BTrails2.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (3 mi) · NE 0.3 · U.S. 0.4APark land16 acres of park per 1,000 residents (48 acres) · NE 15 · U.S. 13BParks close to homeVirtually all residents within a half mile of a park · NE 90% · U.S. 72%A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 90%
LessMore
Nebraska towns of 2,500+ (57)Ahead of 96%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from A− to A. 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 Wiggenhorn Memorial Park, with 0.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
48 conserved acres
6% of Ashland’s land. Who manages Ashland’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city48 ac
Local Recreation Area · 34 acLocal Park · 13 acLocal Other or Unknown · 1 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jack Anderson Ball Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 34 | Open |
| Saline Ford Park Local Park | Town or city | 7 | Open |
| Wiggenhorn Memorial Park Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Open |
| East Side Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
| Central Bark Dog Park Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 1 | Open |
| Euclid St. Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
10 places to go in Ashland
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Ashland
5 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Ashland
Central Bark Dog Park
DirectionsScenic views in Ashland
1 scenic view without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Campgrounds in Ashland
Ashland RV Campground
DirectionsLinomaFee
DirectionsDisc golf in Ashland
1 disc golf course without a name on the map.
Trails & water
1 named trail
Named trails
Open to bikes · 1.6 miUnpaved · 1.1 mi
Oxbow0.4 mi
Biking & sports
0.7 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.7 mi
off-road bike paths
OxbowBike route
0.4 miCourts & fields
4Baseball
3Football
2Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →5 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 Ashland: April and September
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) | 9.5 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.5 | 15.1 | 14.8 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.2 |
| High (°F) | 34 | 39 | 52 | 63 | 74 | 83 | 87 | 85 | 78 | 66 | 50 | 38 |
| Rain (in) | 0.8 | 1.0 | 1.8 | 3.1 | 5.0 | 4.9 | 3.8 | 3.8 | 3.1 | 2.5 | 1.4 | 1.3 |
January is the driest month (0.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 87 °F). 5.0 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 87 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Ashland →
Questions about parks and trails in Ashland
Where can I hike in Ashland?
The longest trail networks: Wiggenhorn Memorial Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Ashland is conserved land?
6% of its land, against a typical 4% for a Nebraska town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Ashland’s trails?
Wiggenhorn Memorial Park doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Ashland?
0.7 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.7 of off-road paths. Named routes: Oxbow.
Is there public land near Ashland?
1,043 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Ashland or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 48 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Ashland have?
Ahead of 90% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #3 of 57 in Nebraska. 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 Ashland 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 →