Chadick Park
Park
12 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Jeremy Wagg · Public domainBOutdoors
Outdoors in McAlester
32% of McAlester’s land is conserved: 3,684 acres
12 miles of mapped trail cross McAlester, 0.7 per square mile of land. 40 acres are parks and preserves, 2.2 per 1,000 residents. 61% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 63% of U.S. towns · #36 of 131 in Oklahoma. What drives it
Conserved land
32%
3,684 acres · of 17.8 sq mi of land
Trails
12 mi
0.7 per sq mi of land
Park land
40 ac
2.2 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
61%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
994 ft
Bald Mountain
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is McAlester?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does McAlester have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, McAlester is ahead of 63% of U.S. towns, #36 of 131 in Oklahoma. Conserved land holds the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of McAlester’s overall grade.
Conserved land32% of the land · typical OK town 7% · U.S. 4%A+Trails0.7 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (12 mi) · OK 0.2 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land2.2 acres of park per 1,000 residents (40 acres) · OK 10 · U.S. 13C−Parks close to home61% of residents within a half mile of a park · OK 62% · U.S. 72%B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 63%
LessMore
Oklahoma towns of 2,500+ (131)Ahead of 73%
Oklahoma towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 7%; the U.S., 4%), so McAlester’s 32% is ahead of 100% of Oklahoma towns, while its trails per square mile lead 90% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ 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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
3,684 conserved acres
32% of McAlester’s land. Who manages McAlester’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State land board3,651 ac
Town or city33 ac
State Resource Management Area · 3,651 acLocal Park · 33 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| CLO Lands State Resource Management Area | State land board | 3,651 | Restricted |
| Unknown Park Local Park | Town or city | 13 | Open |
| Chadick Park Local Park | Town or city | 12 | Open |
| Lee Park Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Open |
| Puterbaugh Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Komar Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
7 places to go in McAlester
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in McAlester
6 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Peaks in McAlester
Bald Mountain994 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
1 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Courts & fields
18Tennis
4Basketball
2Baseball
1Equestrian
1Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →18 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Busby Office BuildingBuilding · listed 1979
About itBusby TheatreBuilding · listed 1979
About itFirst Presbyterian ChurchBuilding · listed 1979
About itMine Rescue StationBuilding · listed 1980
About itMcAlester HouseBuilding · listed 1980
About itMcAlester DXBuilding · listed 1980
About itMass Grave of the Mexican MinersSite · listed 1980
About itMcAlester Scottish Rite TempleBuilding · listed 1980
About itPittsburg County CourthouseBuilding · listed 1984
About itMcAlester ArmoryBuilding · listed 1988
About itLee, Jeff, Park Bath House and PoolDistrict · listed 1988
About itAldridge HotelBuilding · listed 1995
About it6 more on the History page.
When to get out
The walking year in McAlester
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) | 10.0 | 10.9 | 11.9 | 13.0 | 14.0 | 14.5 | 14.3 | 13.5 | 12.3 | 11.2 | 10.3 | 9.8 |
| High (°F) | 51 | 56 | 64 | 73 | 80 | 88 | 93 | 93 | 86 | 75 | 63 | 53 |
| Rain (in) | 2.4 | 2.4 | 3.6 | 4.9 | 6.0 | 4.6 | 3.9 | 3.2 | 4.3 | 4.4 | 3.4 | 3.2 |
January is the driest month (2.4 in) and July the warmest (highs of 93 °F). 6.0 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 93 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in McAlester →
Questions about parks and trails in McAlester
How much of McAlester is conserved land?
32% of its land, against a typical 7% for an Oklahoma town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on McAlester’s trails?
Chadick Park and Lee Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near McAlester?
323 acres of parks and open public land lie inside McAlester or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 40 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does McAlester have?
Ahead of 63% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #36 of 131 in Oklahoma. 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 McAlester 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 →