Hotel Chadron · Photo: Ammodramus · Public domainChadron has 21 miles of mapped trails, 5.4 for every square mile of land
99% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 2% of Chadron’s land is conserved, about 62 acres. 68 acres are parks and preserves, 13 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 83% of U.S. towns · #5 of 57 in Nebraska. What drives it
What kind of outdoors town is Chadron?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
How much outdoors does Chadron have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Chadron is ahead of 83% of U.S. towns, #5 of 57 in Nebraska. Trail miles hold the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
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
The longest trail network is Dean's Green, with 0.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Finnegan Park
All 7 parks & preserves
62 conserved acres
2% of Chadron’s land. Who manages Chadron’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chadron Sports Complex Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 18 | Open |
| Wilson Park Local Park | Town or city | 14 | Open |
| War Memorial Park Local Park | Town or city | 10 | Open |
| Shumway Fields Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 10 | Open |
| Finnegan Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Dog Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Nebraska National Forest National Forest | U.S. Forest Service | 2 | Open |
| Boog Horse Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
7 places to go in Chadron
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
6 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
1 picnic area without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
0.0 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.
7 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 1 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
The best walking months in Chadron: 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) | 9.4 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.6 | 15.3 | 15.0 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 39 | 42 | 52 | 60 | 70 | 81 | 89 | 88 | 78 | 63 | 50 | 39 |
| Rain (in) | 0.4 | 0.6 | 1.1 | 2.1 | 3.0 | 2.9 | 2.1 | 1.7 | 1.5 | 1.4 | 0.6 | 0.5 |
January is the driest month (0.4 in) and July the warmest (highs of 89 °F). 3.0 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 89 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Chadron →
Questions about parks and trails in Chadron
Where can I hike in Chadron?
The longest trail networks: Dean's Green, 0.3 miles; Wilson Park, 0.1 miles; War Memorial Park, 0.1 miles; Finnegan Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Chadron is conserved land?
2% 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 Chadron’s trails?
Dean's Green and Wilson Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Chadron?
25,582 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Chadron or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 70 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Chadron have?
Ahead of 83% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #5 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 Chadron 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 →