Photo: w_lemay · CC BY-SA 2.0Amherst has 99 acres of parks, 7.6 for every 1,000 residents
0.4 miles of mapped trail cross Amherst, 0.1 per square mile of land. 45% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 4% of Amherst’s land is conserved, about 181 acres.
Ahead of 31% of U.S. towns · #710 of 993 in Ohio. What drives it
How much outdoors does Amherst have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Amherst is ahead of 31% of U.S. towns, #710 of 993 in Ohio. Conserved land holds the grade up; trail miles pull 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 Neiding Park, with 0.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Kennedy Park
DePaola Park
181 conserved acres
4% of Amherst’s land. Who manages Amherst’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 13 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beaver Creek Hunt Club State Conservation Area | Private owners | 84 | Closed |
| Amherst Outdoor Life Association Park State Conservation Area | Private owners | 36 | Closed |
| DePaola Park Local Park | Town or city | 22 | Open |
| Amherst Veaver Creek Reservation Park Local Park | Town or city | 13 | Open |
| Maude Neiding Memorial Park Local Park | Town or city | 13 | Open |
3 places to go in Amherst
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
0.9 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.
3 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
The best walking months in Amherst: May to 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) | 34 | 36 | 45 | 58 | 69 | 78 | 82 | 80 | 74 | 63 | 50 | 39 |
| Rain (in) | 2.6 | 2.1 | 2.7 | 3.6 | 3.7 | 4.0 | 3.7 | 3.6 | 3.6 | 3.3 | 2.9 | 2.7 |
February is the driest month (2.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 4.0 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Amherst →
Amherst and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amherst | 4% | 0.1 | 8 | 45% | C |
| Amherst Township | 2% | 0.1 | 11 | 44% | C |
| Lorain | 7% | 0.3 | 15 | 91% | B+ |
| Brownhelm Township | 11% | 0.5 | 175 | 68% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Amherst
Where can I hike in Amherst?
The longest trail networks: Neiding Park, 0.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Amherst is conserved land?
4% of its land, against a typical 3% for an Ohio town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Amherst’s trails?
Neiding Park and Kennedy Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Amherst?
0.9 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.9 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Amherst?
4,606 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Amherst or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 99 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Amherst have?
Ahead of 31% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #710 of 993 in Ohio. 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 Amherst 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 →