Tom McDowell Park
Park
1 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Gary Halvorson, Oregon State Archives · CC BY 4.0C−Outdoors
Outdoors in Elgin
Elgin has 2 acres of parks, 1.1 for every 1,000 residents
95% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 16% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
under 1%
0 acres · of 1.0 sq mi of land
Trails
0.0 mi
0.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
2 ac
1.1 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
95%
of residents within ½ mile
What kind of outdoors town is Elgin?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Elgin have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Elgin is ahead of 16% of U.S. towns. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
C−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Elgin’s overall grade.
Conserved landunder 1% of the land · typical OR town 4% · U.S. 4%DTrails0.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (0 mi) · OR 0.8 · U.S. 0.4DPark land1.1 acres of park per 1,000 residents (2 acres) · OR 7 · U.S. 13C−Parks close to home95% of residents within a half mile of a park · OR 96% · U.S. 72%A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 16%
LessMore
NoteFew parks or trails are mapped in Elgin. OpenStreetMap is mapped by volunteers and coverage varies from town to town, so a town with unmapped parks scores low on them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from D− to C−. 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.
Things to do
1 places to go in Elgin
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in Elgin
Elgin Pool
DirectionsBiking & 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
5Baseball
1Equestrian
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).
Elgin City Hall and Opera HouseBuilding · listed 1980
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Elgin: April to June and 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) | 9.1 | 10.3 | 11.8 | 13.5 | 14.9 | 15.7 | 15.3 | 14.1 | 12.5 | 10.8 | 9.4 | 8.7 |
| High (°F) | 39 | 44 | 52 | 59 | 68 | 75 | 86 | 86 | 77 | 62 | 47 | 39 |
| Rain (in) | 3.1 | 2.4 | 2.1 | 2.1 | 2.1 | 1.7 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 1.9 | 2.7 | 3.6 |
August is the driest month (0.5 in) and July the warmest (highs of 86 °F). 3.6 inches fall in December, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 86 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Elgin →
Questions about parks and trails in Elgin
How much of Elgin is conserved land?
under 1% of its land, against a typical 4% for an Oregon town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Elgin’s trails?
Tom McDowell Park doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Elgin?
29,393 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Elgin or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 2 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Elgin have?
Ahead of 16% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade. 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 Elgin 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 →