Melham Park
Park
60 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Ammodramus · Public domainA−Outdoors
Outdoors in Broken Bow
6% of Broken Bow’s land is conserved, and 96% of residents live within a half mile of a park
98 acres are parks and preserves, 28 per 1,000 residents. 6% of Broken Bow’s land is conserved, about 83 acres. 0.5 miles of mapped trail cross Broken Bow, 0.2 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 76% of U.S. towns · #12 of 57 in Nebraska. What drives it
Conserved land
6%
83 acres · of 2.0 sq mi of land
Trails
0.5 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
98 ac
28 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
96%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.3 mi
0.3 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Broken Bow?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Broken Bow have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Broken Bow is ahead of 76% of U.S. towns, #12 of 57 in Nebraska. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Broken Bow’s overall grade.
Conserved land6% of the land · typical NE town 4% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · NE 0.3 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land28 acres of park per 1,000 residents (98 acres) · NE 15 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home96% of residents within a half mile of a park · NE 90% · U.S. 72%A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 76%
LessMore
Nebraska towns of 2,500+ (57)Ahead of 80%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ 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 Melham Park, with 0.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
North Park
Park
2 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
83 conserved acres
6% of Broken Bow’s land. Who manages Broken Bow’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city83 ac
Local Park · 76 acLocal Recreation Area · 8 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Melham Park Local Park | Town or city | 50 | Open |
| Tomahawk Park Local Park | Town or city | 21 | Open |
| Indian Hills Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 8 | Open |
| South Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| City Square Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
Things to do
1 places to go in Broken Bow
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in Broken Bow
Broken Bow Swimming PoolIn Melham Park
DirectionsTrails & water
1 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.3 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.3 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
6Baseball
3Tennis
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →6 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Custer County Courthouse and JailBuilding · listed 1979
About itArrow HotelBuilding · listed 1985
About itSecurity State Bank BuildingBuilding · listed 1987
About itBroken Bow Carnegie LibraryBuilding · listed 1998
About itBroken Bow Commercial Square Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2006
About itStillman P. Groat HouseBuilding · listed 2015
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Broken Bow: 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 | 15.2 | 14.9 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.2 |
| High (°F) | 37 | 40 | 52 | 61 | 71 | 81 | 87 | 85 | 78 | 64 | 50 | 39 |
| Rain (in) | 0.4 | 0.6 | 1.3 | 2.6 | 4.1 | 3.7 | 3.1 | 2.9 | 2.0 | 1.9 | 0.8 | 0.5 |
January is the driest month (0.4 in) and July the warmest (highs of 87 °F). 4.1 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 87 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Broken Bow →
Questions about parks and trails in Broken Bow
Where can I hike in Broken Bow?
The longest trail networks: Melham Park, 0.3 miles; Custer Community Park, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Broken Bow 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 Broken Bow’s trails?
Melham Park and South Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Broken Bow?
0.3 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.3 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Broken Bow?
97 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Broken Bow or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 98 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Broken Bow have?
Ahead of 76% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #12 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 Broken Bow 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 →