Cherokee Capitol Square
Park
3 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Caleb Long · CC BY-SA 2.5B−Outdoors
Outdoors in Tahlequah
11% of Tahlequah’s land is conserved: 909 acres
8.0 miles of mapped trail cross Tahlequah, 0.6 per square mile of land. 52 acres are parks and preserves, 3.1 per 1,000 residents. 55% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 55% of U.S. towns · #59 of 131 in Oklahoma. What drives it
Conserved land
11%
909 acres · of 12.8 sq mi of land
Trails
8.0 mi
0.6 per sq mi of land
Park land
52 ac
3.1 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
55%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.8 mi
0.2 mi lanes · 0.6 mi paths
What kind of outdoors town is Tahlequah?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Tahlequah have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Tahlequah is ahead of 55% of U.S. towns, #59 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 Tahlequah’s overall grade.
Conserved land11% of the land · typical OK town 7% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.6 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (8 mi) · OK 0.2 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land3.1 acres of park per 1,000 residents (52 acres) · OK 10 · U.S. 13C−Parks close to home55% 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 55%
LessMore
Oklahoma towns of 2,500+ (131)Ahead of 55%
Oklahoma towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 7%; the U.S., 4%), so Tahlequah’s 11% is ahead of 72% of Oklahoma towns, while its trails per square mile lead 86% of them.
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 Cherokee Capitol Square, with 0.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Mission Park
Park
12 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Norris Park
Park
2 acres0.1 mi of trail
Tahlequah History Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 8 parks & preserves
Cherokee Capitol Square3 acres · 0.4 mi of trail
DirectionsSequoyah Park4 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsNorris Park2 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsMission Park12 acres
Tahlequah Tails Dog Park2 acres
DirectionsRoss Park1 acres
Felts Park1 acres
Kaufman Park1 acres
Who protects it
909 conserved acres
11% of Tahlequah’s land. Who manages Tahlequah’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State land board878 ac
Town or city36 ac
State Resource Management Area · 878 acLocal Recreation Area · 19 acLocal Park · 17 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| CLO Lands State Resource Management Area | State land board | 878 | Restricted |
| Phoenix Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 19 | Open |
| Sequoyah Park Local Park | Town or city | 8 | Open |
| Felts Park Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| Norris Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Southridge City Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
Things to do
5 places to go in Tahlequah
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Tahlequah
4 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Community gardens in Tahlequah
1 community garden without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
1 named trail
Named trails
Tahlequah History Trail0.6 mi
Biking & sports
0.8 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.2 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
0.6 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
18Tennis
15Baseball
11Soccer
5Softball
3Football
2Pickleball
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →16 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 2 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Cherokee Female SeminaryBuilding · listed 1973
About itCherokee National JailBuilding · listed 1974
About itCherokee Supreme Court BuildingBuilding · listed 1974
About itIndian University of TahlequahBuilding · listed 1976
About itLoeser, Dr. Irwin D., Log CabinBuilding · listed 1978
About itFrench-Parks HouseBuilding · listed 1985
About itJoseph M. Thompson HouseBuilding · listed 1993
About itTahlequah ArmoryBuilding · listed 1994
About itTahlequah Carnegie LibraryBuilding · listed 2003
About itIllinois CampgroundSite · listed 2004
About itAlston-Bedwell HouseBuilding · listed 2005
About itLeonard M. Logan HouseBuilding · listed 2005
About it4 more on the History page.
When to get out
The walking year in Tahlequah
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 | 10.8 | 11.9 | 13.1 | 14.1 | 14.6 | 14.4 | 13.5 | 12.4 | 11.2 | 10.2 | 9.7 |
| High (°F) | 49 | 54 | 62 | 71 | 79 | 87 | 92 | 91 | 84 | 73 | 61 | 51 |
| Rain (in) | 2.6 | 2.5 | 3.8 | 5.1 | 6.1 | 4.7 | 4.0 | 3.7 | 4.2 | 4.3 | 3.9 | 3.1 |
February is the driest month (2.5 in) and July the warmest (highs of 92 °F). 6.1 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 92 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Tahlequah →
Next door
Tahlequah and its neighbors
Tahlequah has the most mapped trails of the 3 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Questions about parks and trails in Tahlequah
Where can I hike in Tahlequah?
The longest trail networks: Cherokee Capitol Square, 0.4 miles; Sequoyah Park, 0.1 miles; Norris Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Tahlequah is conserved land?
11% 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 Tahlequah’s trails?
Cherokee Capitol Square and Mission Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Tahlequah?
0.8 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.2 of painted or protected lanes and 0.6 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Tahlequah?
293 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Tahlequah or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 52 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Tahlequah have?
Ahead of 55% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #59 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 Tahlequah 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 →