Walter Stinson Community Park
Managed by City of University Heights
7 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: w_lemay · CC BY-SA 2.0COutdoors
Outdoors in University Heights
University Heights has 20 acres of parks, 1.5 for every 1,000 residents
94% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 0.4 miles of mapped trail cross University Heights, 0.2 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 34% of U.S. towns · #685 of 993 in Ohio. What drives it
Conserved land
1%
8 acres · of 1.8 sq mi of land
Trails
0.4 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
20 ac
1.5 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
94%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.4 mi
0.4 mi paths
What kind of outdoors town is University Heights?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does University Heights have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, University Heights is ahead of 34% of U.S. towns, #685 of 993 in Ohio. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
C
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of University Heights’ overall grade.
Conserved land1% of the land · typical OH town 3% · U.S. 4%C−Trails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (0 mi) · OH 0.2 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land1.5 acres of park per 1,000 residents (20 acres) · OH 15 · U.S. 13C−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 34%
LessMore
Ohio towns of 2,500+ (993)Ahead of 31%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C− 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 Walter Stinson Community Park, with 0.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Purvis Park
Managed by City of University Heights
7 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trail sign
Who protects it
8 conserved acres
1% of University Heights’ land. Who manages University Heights’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city7 ac
Local Park · 7 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Walter Stinson Community Park Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Open |
| Purvis Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
Things to do
10 places to go in University Heights
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in University Heights
10 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
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
9Tennis
6Baseball
2Basketball
1Football
1Soccer
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
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.
Carroll, John, University North Quad Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2013
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in University Heights: 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 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.5 | 15.2 | 14.9 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.2 |
| High (°F) | 33 | 36 | 45 | 58 | 69 | 78 | 82 | 80 | 74 | 62 | 49 | 38 |
| Rain (in) | 2.9 | 2.2 | 3.0 | 3.7 | 3.8 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 3.6 | 4.1 | 3.8 | 3.5 | 3.1 |
February is the driest month (2.2 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 4.1 inches fall in September, the wettest month. The climate in University Heights →
Next door
University 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University Heights | 1% | 0.2 | 1 | 94% | C |
| Cleveland Heights | 7% | 0.7 | 6 | 87% | B+ |
| Beachwood | 7% | 0.2 | 6 | 68% | B− |
| Shaker Heights | 10% | 1.2 | 10 | 99%+ | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in University Heights
Where can I hike in University Heights?
The longest trail networks: Walter Stinson Community Park, 0.2 miles; Purvis Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of University Heights is conserved land?
1% 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 University Heights’ trails?
Walter Stinson Community Park and Purvis Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in University Heights?
0.4 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.4 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near University Heights?
11,692 acres of parks and open public land lie inside University Heights or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 20 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does University Heights have?
Ahead of 34% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #685 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 University 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 →