Veterans Memorial Lake Park
Managed by Norwalk Park & Rec
321 acres3.8 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Finetooth · CC BY-SA 3.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Norwalk
9% of Norwalk’s land is conserved: 528 acres
94% of residents live within a half mile of a park. The biggest trail networks: Veterans Memorial Lake Park (3.8 mi), Norwalk Area Contractors Park (0.5 mi). 6.7 miles of mapped trail cross Norwalk, 0.8 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 88% of U.S. towns · #67 of 993 in Ohio. What drives it
Conserved land
9%
528 acres · of 8.8 sq mi of land
Trails
6.7 mi
0.8 per sq mi of land
Park land
490 ac
29 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
94%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
4.0 mi
0.1 mi lanes · 3.8 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
3
2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Norwalk?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Norwalk have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Norwalk is ahead of 88% of U.S. towns, #67 of 993 in Ohio. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of residents near a park ranks highest, park acres per resident lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Norwalk’s overall grade.
Conserved land9% of the land · typical OH town 3% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.8 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (7 mi) · OH 0.2 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land29 acres of park per 1,000 residents (490 acres) · OH 15 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home94% of residents within a half mile of a park · OH 60% · U.S. 72%A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 88%
LessMore
Ohio towns of 2,500+ (993)Ahead of 93%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from A− 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 Veterans Memorial Lake Park, with 3.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Norwalk Area Contractors Park
Park
17 acres0.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Pleasant Street Park
Park
8 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 6 parks & preserves
Veterans Memorial Lake Park321 acres · 3.8 mi of trail · Norwalk Park & Rec
DirectionsNorwalk Area Contractors Park17 acres · 0.5 mi of trail
DirectionsPleasant Street Park8 acres
Lion's Park7 acres
DirectionsMcGuan Park6 acres
DirectionsBishman Park3 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
528 conserved acres
9% of Norwalk’s land. Who manages Norwalk’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city451 ac
Private owners75 ac
County2 ac
Local Recreation Area · 335 acLocal Park · 118 acPrivate Park · 75 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Memorial Lake Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 316 | Open |
| Norwalk Sycamore Hills Golf Club Private Park | Private owners | 75 | Open |
| Baines Park Local Park | Town or city | 30 | Open |
| Sofios Park Local Park | Town or city | 27 | Open |
| Stoutenberg Park Local Park | Town or city | 19 | Open |
| Whitney Field Local Park | Town or city | 11 | Open |
| Vfw Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 10 | Open |
| Mcguan Park Local Park | Town or city | 7 | Open |
| Lions Park Local Park | Town or city | 7 | Open |
| Park Local Park | Town or city | 7 | Open |
4 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
12 places to go in Norwalk
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Norwalk
10 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Norwalk
2 boat launches without a name on the map.
Trails & water
3 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
4.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.1 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
3.8 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
15Baseball
7Tennis
6Soccer
5Football
1Basketball
1Beach volleyball
1Volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →6 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.
West Main Street DistrictDistrict · listed 1974
About itHuron County Courthouse And JailDistrict · listed 1974
About itDunton HouseBuilding · listed 1982
About itHuron County Children's HomeBuilding · listed 2004
About itNorwalk Memorial HospitalBuilding · listed 2007
About itNorwalk TheatreBuilding · listed 2022
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Norwalk: August 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) | 34 | 37 | 46 | 59 | 71 | 80 | 83 | 81 | 76 | 63 | 50 | 39 |
| Rain (in) | 2.6 | 2.2 | 2.8 | 3.8 | 3.8 | 4.2 | 3.9 | 3.5 | 3.4 | 3.2 | 2.9 | 2.5 |
February is the driest month (2.2 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 4.2 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Norwalk →
Next door
Norwalk and its neighbors
Norwalk has the most mapped trails of the 2 towns around it. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Norwalk | 9% | 0.8 | 29 | 94% | A |
| Ridgefield Township | 1% | under 0.1 | 12 | 55% | C |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Norwalk
Where can I hike in Norwalk?
The longest trail networks: Veterans Memorial Lake Park, 3.8 miles; Norwalk Area Contractors Park, 0.5 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Norwalk is conserved land?
9% 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 Norwalk’s trails?
Veterans Memorial Lake Park and Norwalk Area Contractors Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Norwalk?
4.0 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.1 of painted or protected lanes and 3.8 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Norwalk?
2,547 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Norwalk or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 490 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Norwalk have?
Ahead of 88% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #67 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 Norwalk 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 →