Bauxite Ridge
Nature preserve
437 acres17.2 mi of trail
Box TurtleMurky MarshLookout HillSabbath Trail+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Collegedale
Collegedale has 48 miles of mapped trails, 3.8 for every square mile of land
The biggest trail networks: Bauxite Ridge (17.2 mi), Little Debbie Park (0.6 mi). 5% of Collegedale’s land is conserved, about 372 acres. 102 acres are parks and preserves, 9.0 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 72% of U.S. towns · #14 of 177 in Tennessee. What drives it
Conserved land
5%
372 acres · of 12.5 sq mi of land
Trails
48 mi
3.8 per sq mi of land
Park land
102 ac
9.0 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
67%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
5.4 mi
2.3 mi lanes · 3.1 mi paths
Highest peak
919 ft
Whitener Hill
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Collegedale?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Collegedale have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Collegedale is ahead of 72% of U.S. towns, #14 of 177 in Tennessee. Trail miles hold the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Collegedale’s overall grade.
Conserved land5% of the land · typical TN town 1% · U.S. 4%BTrails3.8 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (48 mi) · TN 0.2 · U.S. 0.4A+Park land9.0 acres of park per 1,000 residents (102 acres) · TN 10 · U.S. 13C+Parks close to home67% of residents within a half mile of a park · TN 42% · U.S. 72%B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 72%
LessMore
Tennessee towns of 2,500+ (177)Ahead of 93%
Few Tennessee towns conserve much land (a typical one, 1%; the U.S., 4%), so Collegedale’s 5% is ahead of 78% of Tennessee towns, while its trails per square mile lead 99% 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
The longest trail network is Bauxite Ridge, with 17.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Little Debbie Park
Managed by City of Collegedale
10 acres0.6 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 8 parks & preserves
Bauxite Ridge437 acres · 17.2 mi of trail
DirectionsLittle Debbie Park10 acres · 0.6 mi of trail · City of Collegedale
DirectionsVeteran's Park13 acres · 0.4 mi of trail
DirectionsStudent Park4 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsCollegedale Commons9 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsTucker Road Recreation Area4 acres
DirectionsImagination Station3 acres · City of Collegedale
DirectionsThe Nature Nook2 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
372 conserved acres
5% of Collegedale’s land. Who manages Collegedale’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits902 ac
Town or city43 ac
County23 ac
Forest Stewardship Easement · 556 acUnknown Easement · 262 acOther Easement · 80 acLocal Recreation Area · 59 acLocal Park · 8 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 305 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 4 of 18 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wolftever Creek Greenway Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 31 | Open |
| East Hamilton County Park Local Recreation Area | County | 23 | Open |
| Summit Of Softball Complex Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 5 | Open |
| Tucker Road Recreational Area Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Imagination Station Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Veteran's Memorial Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
Things to do
23 places to go in Collegedale
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Collegedale
Imagination StationIn Imagination Station
DirectionsTucker Road Recrearion AreaIn Tucker Road Recreation Area
DirectionsPlus 15 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Collegedale
Collegedale Dog Park
DirectionsPlus 1 dog park without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Scenic views in Collegedale
1 scenic view without a name on the map.
Peaks in Collegedale
Whitener Hill919 ft elevation
DirectionsPicnic areas in Collegedale
2 picnic areas without a name on the map.
Trails & water
25 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 34.9 miUnpaved · 1.6 mi
Box Turtle4.2 mi
Murky Marsh3.2 mi
Southern Mission2.0 mi
Lookout Hill1.6 mi
Sabbath Trail1.5 mi
White Oak Ridge1.5 mi
Big Red1.3 mi
Points Unknown1.3 mi
Mid Ridge1.2 mi
Rolling Green1.2 mi
15 more trails
Krebs Cycle
1.2 miPine
1.2 miDogwood
1.1 miCoyote
1.0 miNorth Tower
1.0 miPogo's Place
0.9 miBarred Owl
0.8 miForest
0.7 miRolling Ridge
0.6 miChristmas Top
0.6 miCopperhead
0.5 miBlack Bear
0.5 miTower
0.4 miBobcat
0.4 miBig Forest
0.3 miLakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
5.4 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
2.3 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
3.1 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
13Baseball
5Tennis
2Soccer
2Equestrian
1Beach volleyball
1Basketball
1Pickleball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Collegedale: 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) | 10.0 | 10.9 | 11.9 | 13.0 | 14.0 | 14.5 | 14.3 | 13.5 | 12.3 | 11.2 | 10.3 | 9.8 |
| High (°F) | 50 | 54 | 63 | 72 | 80 | 86 | 89 | 89 | 83 | 73 | 61 | 53 |
| Rain (in) | 5.1 | 5.3 | 5.3 | 4.9 | 4.2 | 4.2 | 4.5 | 4.0 | 4.5 | 3.7 | 4.6 | 5.3 |
October is the driest month (3.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 89 °F). 5.3 inches fall in February, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 89 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Collegedale →
Next door
Collegedale and its neighbors
Collegedale has the second most mapped trails of the 3 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Collegedale | 5% | 3.8 | 9 | 67% | B+ |
| Apison | 1% | 0.3 | 17 | 9% | C |
| Chattanooga | 14% | 1.3 | 22 | 68% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Collegedale
Where can I hike in Collegedale?
The longest trail networks: Bauxite Ridge, 17.2 miles; Little Debbie Park, 0.6 miles; Veteran's Park, 0.4 miles; Collegedale Commons, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Collegedale is conserved land?
5% of its land, against a typical 1% for a Tennessee town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Collegedale’s trails?
Bauxite Ridge and Little Debbie Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Collegedale?
5.4 miles of bike routes are on the map: 2.3 of painted or protected lanes and 3.1 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Collegedale?
6,623 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Collegedale or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 102 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Collegedale have?
Ahead of 72% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #14 of 177 in Tennessee. 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 Collegedale 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 →