Withlacoochee Park
Park
11 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Jlvshistory · CC BY-SA 4.0BOutdoors
Outdoors in Marion
Marion has 134 acres of parks, 22 for every 1,000 residents
94% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 0.5 miles of mapped trail cross Marion, 0.1 per square mile of land. 5% of Marion’s land is conserved, about 131 acres.
Ahead of 64% of U.S. towns · #21 of 169 in South Carolina. What drives it
Conserved land
5%
131 acres · of 4.5 sq mi of land
Trails
0.5 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
134 ac
22 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
94%
of residents within ½ mile
What kind of outdoors town is Marion?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Marion have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Marion is ahead of 64% of U.S. towns, #21 of 169 in South Carolina. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Marion’s overall grade.
Conserved land5% of the land · typical SC town 1% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · SC 0.2 · U.S. 0.4CPark land22 acres of park per 1,000 residents (134 acres) · SC 6 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home94% of residents within a half mile of a park · SC 52% · U.S. 72%A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 64%
LessMore
South Carolina towns of 2,500+ (169)Ahead of 88%
Few South Carolina towns conserve much land (a typical one, 1%; the U.S., 4%), so Marion’s 5% is ahead of 80% of South Carolina towns, while its trails per square mile lead 43% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B− 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.
Harmon Park
Park
6 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
131 conserved acres
5% of Marion’s land. Who manages Marion’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city128 ac
County3 ac
Local Park · 91 acLocal Recreation Area · 40 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Catfish Park Local Park | Town or city | 67 | Open |
| Green Street Complex Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 20 | Open |
| Withlacoochee Park Local Park | Town or city | 13 | Open |
| Marion Hike - Bike Trail Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 7 | Open |
| Eloise Grices Recreation Center Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 5 | Open |
| Belle M. Tilghman Memorial Park Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Open |
| Watsonia Recreation Complex Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 5 | Open |
| Harmon Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Lion's Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Grice Recreation Center Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 2 | Open |
2 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
3 places to go in Marion
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Marion
3 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
1 named trail
Named trails
Marion Hike and Bike Trail0.5 mi
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
5Baseball
4Tennis
1Softball
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →2 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 1 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The best walking months in Marion: April and May
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) | 10.1 | 10.9 | 11.9 | 13.0 | 13.9 | 14.4 | 14.2 | 13.4 | 12.3 | 11.3 | 10.3 | 9.9 |
| High (°F) | 57 | 60 | 68 | 76 | 83 | 89 | 92 | 90 | 85 | 76 | 67 | 59 |
| Rain (in) | 3.4 | 3.2 | 3.4 | 3.3 | 3.7 | 4.8 | 5.3 | 6.0 | 5.4 | 3.8 | 3.1 | 3.6 |
November is the driest month (3.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 92 °F). 6.0 inches fall in August, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 92 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Marion →
Questions about parks and trails in Marion
How much of Marion is conserved land?
5% of its land, against a typical 1% for a South Carolina town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Marion’s trails?
Withlacoochee Park and Harmon Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Marion?
5,909 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Marion or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 134 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Marion have?
Ahead of 64% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #21 of 169 in South Carolina. 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 Marion 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 →