Oberlin Arboretum
Park
47 acres2.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Weatherman1126 · Public domainAOutdoors
Outdoors in Oberlin
Oberlin has 5.0 miles of mapped trails, 1.0 for every square mile of land
95% of residents live within a half mile of a park. The biggest trail networks: Oberlin Arboretum (2.1 mi). 7% of Oberlin’s land is conserved, about 221 acres.
Ahead of 85% of U.S. towns · #98 of 993 in Ohio. What drives it
Conserved land
7%
221 acres · of 4.9 sq mi of land
Trails
5.0 mi
1.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
154 ac
18 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
95%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
3.7 mi
3.7 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
10
What kind of outdoors town is Oberlin?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Oberlin have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Oberlin is ahead of 85% of U.S. towns, #98 of 993 in Ohio. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; trail miles rank highest, park acres per resident lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Oberlin’s overall grade.
Conserved land7% of the land · typical OH town 3% · U.S. 4%B+Trails1.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (5 mi) · OH 0.2 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land18 acres of park per 1,000 residents (154 acres) · OH 15 · U.S. 13BParks close to home95% 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 85%
LessMore
Ohio towns of 2,500+ (993)Ahead of 90%
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 Oberlin Arboretum, with 2.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
All 6 parks & preserves
Oberlin Arboretum47 acres · 2.1 mi of trail
Tappan Square11 acres
DirectionsPark Street Park5 acres
DirectionsProspect Park4 acres · City of Oberlin
DirectionsWright Memorial Park1 acres
DirectionsFuture Nature Path Zone1 acres · City of Oberlin
DirectionsWho protects it
221 conserved acres
7% of Oberlin’s land. Who manages Oberlin’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Private owners132 ac
Town or city75 ac
Other state land14 ac
Private Park · 132 acLocal Recreation Area · 60 acLocal Park · 29 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oberlin Golf Club Private Park | Private owners | 132 | Open |
| Oberlin Recreation Complex Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 60 | Open |
| Tappan Square Local Park | Other state land | 14 | Open |
| Park Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| Unknown Park Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| Depot Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Wright Memorial Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
6 places to go in Oberlin
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in Oberlin
SplashZone Outdoor Pool
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Oberlin
The Child Garden Playground
DirectionsPlus 4 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
1 named trail and 10 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 1.0 mi
Buttonbush Bridge0.1 mi
Biking & sports
3.7 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
3.7 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
14Soccer
11Baseball
10Tennis
4Football
2Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →11 places on the National Register, 3 of them National Historic Landmarks
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 4 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Westervelt HallBuilding · listed 1974
About itCongregational Church of ChristBuilding · listed 1974
About itChrist Episcopal ChurchBuilding · listed 1978
About itOberlin Lake Shore And Michigan Southern StationBuilding · listed 1979
About itBurrell-King HouseBuilding · listed 1979
About itFrank Jewett HouseBuilding · listed 1979
About itOberlin Gas Lighting Company Gasholder HouseStructure · listed 1998
About itDowntown Oberlin Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2003
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Oberlin: April, May and July 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 | 15.1 | 14.9 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.2 |
| High (°F) | 34 | 37 | 46 | 59 | 71 | 80 | 83 | 81 | 75 | 63 | 50 | 39 |
| Rain (in) | 2.7 | 2.1 | 2.8 | 3.6 | 3.8 | 4.1 | 3.8 | 3.6 | 3.6 | 3.4 | 2.9 | 2.7 |
February is the driest month (2.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 4.1 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Oberlin →
Next door
Oberlin and its neighbors
Oberlin 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oberlin | 7% | 1.0 | 18 | 95% | A |
| New Russia Township | 1% | 0.1 | 49 | 14% | C |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Oberlin
Where can I hike in Oberlin?
The longest trail networks: Oberlin Arboretum, 2.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Oberlin is conserved land?
7% 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 Oberlin’s trails?
Oberlin Arboretum and Tappan Square don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Oberlin?
3.7 miles of bike routes are on the map: 3.7 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Oberlin?
6,389 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Oberlin or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 154 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Oberlin have?
Ahead of 85% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #98 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 Oberlin 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 →