Lawson Park
Managed by City of Waverly
37 acres0.7 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Waverly
Waverly has 113 acres of parks, 26 for every 1,000 residents
91% of residents live within a half mile of a park. The biggest trail networks: Lawson Park (0.7 mi), Aspen Park (0.5 mi). 1.6 miles of mapped trail cross Waverly, 0.7 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 80% of U.S. towns · #9 of 57 in Nebraska. What drives it
Conserved land
5%
78 acres · of 2.5 sq mi of land
Trails
1.6 mi
0.7 per sq mi of land
Park land
113 ac
26 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
91%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.4 mi
0.4 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Waverly?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Waverly have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Waverly is ahead of 80% of U.S. towns, #9 of 57 in Nebraska. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of residents near a park ranks highest, conserved land lowest.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Waverly’s overall grade.
Conserved land5% of the land · typical NE town 4% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.7 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (2 mi) · NE 0.3 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land26 acres of park per 1,000 residents (113 acres) · NE 15 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home91% 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 80%
LessMore
Nebraska towns of 2,500+ (57)Ahead of 86%
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 Lawson Park, with 0.7 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Aspen Park
Park
12 acres0.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 5 parks & preserves
Lawson Park37 acres · 0.7 mi of trail · City of Waverly
DirectionsAspen Park12 acres · 0.5 mi of trail
Jaycee Park10 acres · 0.4 mi of trail
DirectionsWayne Park31 acres
DirectionsSharp Park1 acres
Who protects it
78 conserved acres
5% of Waverly’s land. Who manages Waverly’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city68 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits10 ac
Local Park · 78 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wayne Park Local Park | Town or city | 34 | Open |
| Lawson Park Local Park | Town or city | 33 | Open |
| Jaycee Park Local Park | Land trusts & nonprofits | 10 | Open |
| Sharp Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
9 places to go in Waverly
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in Waverly
Wayne Park PoolIn Wayne Park
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Waverly
Tot LotIn Sharp Park
DirectionsPlus 7 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
0.4 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.4 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
10Baseball
10Soccer
6Tennis
4Basketball
2Volleyball
1Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
April is the best month for walking in Waverly
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 | 14.4 | 15.1 | 14.8 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.2 |
| High (°F) | 34 | 39 | 52 | 64 | 74 | 84 | 87 | 85 | 79 | 66 | 51 | 38 |
| Rain (in) | 0.8 | 1.0 | 1.8 | 2.9 | 5.2 | 4.7 | 3.8 | 3.8 | 3.1 | 2.4 | 1.3 | 1.3 |
January is the driest month (0.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 87 °F). 5.2 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 87 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Waverly →
Questions about parks and trails in Waverly
Where can I hike in Waverly?
The longest trail networks: Lawson Park, 0.7 miles; Aspen Park, 0.5 miles; Jaycee Park, 0.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Waverly is conserved land?
5% 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 Waverly’s trails?
Lawson Park and Aspen Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Waverly?
0.4 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.4 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Waverly?
4,430 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Waverly or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 113 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Waverly have?
Ahead of 80% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #9 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 Waverly 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 →