Buffalo Park
Park
10 acres0.6 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Springfield Community Hall · Photo: Ammodramus · CC0BOutdoors
Outdoors in Springfield
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park in Springfield
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park. 64 acres are parks and preserves, 40 per 1,000 residents. The biggest trail networks: Buffalo Park (0.6 mi).
Ahead of 65% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
under 1%
0 acres · of 1.6 sq mi of land
Trails
0.7 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
64 ac
40 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
2.3 mi
2.3 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Springfield?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Springfield have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Springfield is ahead of 65% of U.S. towns. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Springfield’s overall grade.
Conserved landunder 1% of the land · typical NE town 4% · U.S. 4%DTrails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · NE 0.3 · U.S. 0.4BPark land40 acres of park per 1,000 residents (64 acres) · NE 15 · U.S. 13A−Parks 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 65%
LessMore
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 Buffalo Park, with 0.6 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Springfield Creek Trail & Rec Area
Managed by City of Springfield
12 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto MoPac Trail Parking
Springfield City Park
Park
5 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Things to do
3 places to go in Springfield
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Springfield
3 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
1 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
2.3 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
2.3 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
2Baseball
1Tennis
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →1 place 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.
Springfield Community HallBuilding · listed 1998
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Springfield: 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 | 14.9 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.2 |
| High (°F) | 33 | 38 | 51 | 63 | 73 | 83 | 86 | 84 | 78 | 65 | 50 | 37 |
| Rain (in) | 0.8 | 1.0 | 1.9 | 3.2 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 3.7 | 3.8 | 3.1 | 2.5 | 1.4 | 1.3 |
January is the driest month (0.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 86 °F). 5.0 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 86 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Springfield →
Questions about parks and trails in Springfield
Where can I hike in Springfield?
The longest trail networks: Buffalo Park, 0.6 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Springfield is conserved land?
under 1% 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 Springfield’s trails?
Buffalo Park and Springfield Recreation Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Springfield?
2.3 miles of bike routes are on the map: 2.3 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Springfield?
7,167 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Springfield or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 64 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Springfield have?
Ahead of 65% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade. 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 Springfield 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 →