OBU Varsity Athletic Grounds
Park
22 acres0.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: kennethaw88 · CC BY 4.0BOutdoors
Outdoors in Shawnee
8% of Shawnee’s land is conserved: 2,072 acres
The biggest trail networks: OBU Varsity Athletic Grounds (0.5 mi). 200 acres are parks and preserves, 6.3 per 1,000 residents. 73% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 57% of U.S. towns · #52 of 131 in Oklahoma. What drives it
Conserved land
8%
2,072 acres · of 38.6 sq mi of land
Trails
15 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
200 ac
6.3 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
73%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
4.9 mi
4.9 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
3
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Shawnee have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Shawnee is ahead of 57% of U.S. towns, #52 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 Shawnee’s overall grade.
Conserved land8% of the land · typical OK town 7% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (15 mi) · OK 0.2 · U.S. 0.4BPark land6.3 acres of park per 1,000 residents (200 acres) · OK 10 · U.S. 13C+Parks close to home73% 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 57%
LessMore
Oklahoma towns of 2,500+ (131)Ahead of 61%
Oklahoma towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 7%; the U.S., 4%), so Shawnee’s 8% is ahead of 62% of Oklahoma towns, while its trails per square mile lead 74% of them.
Water is 6% of Shawnee’s area (2 of 41 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 8%.
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 OBU Varsity Athletic Grounds, with 0.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Boy Scout Park
Park
10 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Staude Park Shawnee Youth Soccer Park
Park
15 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 32 parks & preserves
OBU Varsity Athletic Grounds22 acres · 0.5 mi of trail
Boy Scout Park10 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
Woodland Park9 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsVirtus Park1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Staude Park Shawnee Youth Soccer Park15 acres
Lion's Club Park14 acres
Farrall Park at the Community Center13 acres
Dockery Park12 acres
Dean Weigant Park8 acres
Sister City Park8 acres
Milstead Park5 acres
Chasteen Park5 acres
Lilac Park5 acres
Shawnee Wolves Water Tower Park4 acres
KidSpace Park4 acres
Kenwood Park4 acres
Pottawatomie County Museum and Sante Fe Depot Park3 acres
Optimist Park2 acres
OBU Millenium Park2 acres
Timbers Park2 acres
Redbud Park1 acres
Larchmiller Park1 acres
Wildwood Park1 acres
Rose Garden Park1 acres
Jefferson Circle Park1 acres
Freshfire Church Children's Park1 acres
Strickland Park1 acres
Celebration of Life Park1 acres
Veteran's Memorial Park1 acres
DirectionsAce of Spades Cannon Park1 acres
Native Plant Park1 acres
Mihura Park1 acres · City of Shawnee
Who protects it
2,072 conserved acres
8% of Shawnee’s land. Water is left out: Shawnee has 38.6 square miles of land and 2.3 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Shawnee’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State land board1,972 ac
Town or city100 ac
State Resource Management Area · 1,972 acLocal Park · 78 acLocal Recreation Area · 12 acLocal Other or Unknown · 10 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| CLO Lands State Resource Management Area | State land board | 1,972 | Restricted |
| Lions Club Park Local Park | Town or city | 13 | Open |
| Dockery Ball Fields Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 12 | Open |
| Briscoe Boy Scout Park Local Park | Town or city | 10 | Open |
| Wyatt Park (Proposed) Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 10 | Open |
| Farrall Park Local Park | Town or city | 10 | Open |
| Woodland Park Local Park | Town or city | 8 | Open |
| Kidspace Park Local Park | Town or city | 8 | Open |
| Isaac Waltons Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Kenwood Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
1 places to go in Shawnee
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Shawnee
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
3 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
4.9 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
4.9 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
19Tennis
17Baseball
2Football
2Basketball
2Pickleball
1Beach volleyball
1Soccer
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →15 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Shawnee Friends MissionBuilding · listed 1973
About itSanta Fe DepotBuilding · listed 1974
About itSt. Gregory's Abbey and CollegeBuilding · listed 1975
About itGovernors MansionBuilding · listed 1983
About itKerfoot HouseBuilding · listed 1983
About itNuckolls HouseBuilding · listed 1983
About itBeard CabinBuilding · listed 1983
About itWalker HouseBuilding · listed 1983
About itPottawatomie County CourthouseBuilding · listed 1984
About itBillington BuildingBuilding · listed 1985
About itH. T. Douglas Mansion and GarageBuilding · listed 1985
About itAldridge HotelBuilding · listed 2000
About it3 more on the History page.
When to get out
April is the best month for walking in Shawnee
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 | 10.2 | 9.8 |
| High (°F) | 51 | 55 | 64 | 73 | 80 | 88 | 93 | 93 | 85 | 74 | 62 | 52 |
| Rain (in) | 1.6 | 1.8 | 2.9 | 3.9 | 5.3 | 4.9 | 3.9 | 3.4 | 3.9 | 3.5 | 2.3 | 2.1 |
January is the driest month (1.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 93 °F). 5.3 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 93 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Shawnee →
Next door
Shawnee and its neighbors
Shawnee 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shawnee | 8% | 0.4 | 6 | 73% | B |
| Bethel Acres | 5% | 0.1 | under 1 | under 1% | D |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Shawnee
Where can I hike in Shawnee?
The longest trail networks: OBU Varsity Athletic Grounds, 0.5 miles; Boy Scout Park, 0.3 miles; Woodland Park, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Shawnee is conserved land?
8% 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 Shawnee’s trails?
OBU Varsity Athletic Grounds and Boy Scout Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Shawnee?
4.9 miles of bike routes are on the map: 4.9 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Shawnee?
3,405 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Shawnee or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 200 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Shawnee have?
Ahead of 57% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #52 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 Shawnee 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 →