Bedford Reservation
Managed by Cleveland Metroparks
196 acres2.1 mi of trail
Buckeye TrailForbes Crossing Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Arnold H Berger · CC BY-SA 3.0BOutdoors
Outdoors in Bedford Heights
6% of Bedford Heights’ land is conserved: 186 acres
The biggest trail networks: Bedford Reservation (2.1 mi). 2.3 miles of mapped trail cross Bedford Heights, 0.5 per square mile of land. 63 acres are parks and preserves, 5.8 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 56% of U.S. towns · #439 of 993 in Ohio. What drives it
Conserved land
6%
186 acres · of 4.5 sq mi of land
Trails
2.3 mi
0.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
63 ac
5.8 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
70%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.2 mi
1.2 mi paths
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Bedford Heights have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Bedford Heights is ahead of 56% of U.S. towns, #439 of 993 in Ohio. Conserved land holds the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Bedford Heights’ overall grade.
Conserved land6% of the land · typical OH town 3% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (2 mi) · OH 0.2 · U.S. 0.4BPark land5.8 acres of park per 1,000 residents (63 acres) · OH 15 · U.S. 13CParks close to home70% of residents within a half mile of a park · OH 60% · U.S. 72%B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 56%
LessMore
Ohio towns of 2,500+ (993)Ahead of 56%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to B+. 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 Bedford Reservation, with 2.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Reed Park
Park
9 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
186 conserved acres
6% of Bedford Heights’ land. Who manages Bedford Heights’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city186 ac
Local Park · 163 acLocal Recreation Area · 23 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bedford Reservation Local Park | Town or city | 127 | Restricted |
| Vacant Municipal Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 23 | Open |
| Bedford Heights Community Pool Local Park | Town or city | 22 | Open |
| Bedford Heights Community Center Local Park | Town or city | 14 | Open |
Things to do
6 places to go in Bedford Heights
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in Bedford Heights
Bedford Heights PoolIn Reed Park
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Bedford Heights
3 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Scenic views in Bedford Heights
1 scenic view without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Picnic areas in Bedford Heights
Forbes Woods Picnic AreaIn Bedford Reservation
DirectionsTrails & water
2 named trails
Named trails
Horses · 1.2 miUnpaved · 2.1 mi
Buckeye Trail1.1 mi
Forbes Crossing Trail0.9 mi
Biking & sports
1.2 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.2 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
6Baseball
2Basketball
1Tennis
1Multi-sport
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Bedford Heights: April 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 | 37 | 46 | 59 | 70 | 79 | 82 | 81 | 74 | 62 | 50 | 39 |
| Rain (in) | 2.8 | 2.2 | 2.9 | 3.6 | 3.8 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 3.6 | 4.0 | 3.6 | 3.3 | 3.0 |
February is the driest month (2.2 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 4.0 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Bedford Heights →
Next door
Bedford Heights 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bedford Heights | 6% | 0.5 | 6 | 70% | B |
| Bedford | 6% | 1.3 | 6 | 79% | B+ |
| Oakwood | 4% | 0.1 | 7 | 87% | C+ |
| Maple Heights | 4% | 0.3 | 6 | 89% | B− |
| Solon | 10% | 0.9 | 14 | 78% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Bedford Heights
Where can I hike in Bedford Heights?
The longest trail networks: Bedford Reservation, 2.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Bedford Heights is conserved land?
6% 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 Bedford Heights’ trails?
Bedford Reservation and Reed Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Bedford Heights?
1.2 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.2 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Bedford Heights?
25,140 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Bedford Heights or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 63 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Bedford Heights have?
Ahead of 56% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #439 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 Bedford Heights 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 →