Delaware Park
Park
37 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Rhea County Courthouse · Photo: Calvin Beale · Public domainCOutdoors
Outdoors in Dayton
Dayton has 136 acres of parks, 18 for every 1,000 residents
0.1 miles of mapped trail cross Dayton. 37% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 1% of Dayton’s land is conserved, about 70 acres.
Ahead of 26% of U.S. towns · #110 of 177 in Tennessee. What drives it
Conserved land
1%
70 acres · of 8.5 sq mi of land
Trails
0.1 mi
0.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
136 ac
18 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
37%
of residents within ½ mile
What kind of outdoors town is Dayton?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Dayton have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Dayton is ahead of 26% of U.S. towns, #110 of 177 in Tennessee. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
C
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Dayton’s overall grade.
Conserved land1% of the land · typical TN town 1% · U.S. 4%CTrails0.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (0 mi) · TN 0.2 · U.S. 0.4DPark land18 acres of park per 1,000 residents (136 acres) · TN 10 · U.S. 13BParks close to home37% of residents within a half mile of a park · TN 42% · U.S. 72%C
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 26%
LessMore
Tennessee towns of 2,500+ (177)Ahead of 38%
Few Tennessee towns conserve much land (a typical one, 1%; the U.S., 4%), so Dayton’s 1% is ahead of 48% of Tennessee towns, while its trails per square mile lead 12% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C− 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.
Dayton Walking Track Sections 2 and 3
Park
32 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 6 parks & preserves
Washington Park15 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsDelaware Park37 acres
Dayton Walking Track Sections 2 and 332 acres
DirectionsPoint Park12 acres
DirectionsDayton Walking Track Section 15 acres
DirectionsPendegrass Park2 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
70 conserved acres
1% of Dayton’s land. Who manages Dayton’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city60 ac
Regional agency10 ac
Local Park · 36 acLocal Recreation Area · 34 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Delaware Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 34 | Open |
| Dayton Municipal Park Local Park | Town or city | 22 | Open |
| Point Park Local Park | Regional agency | 6 | Open |
| Swinging Bridge Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Pendegrass Park Local Park | Regional agency | 4 | Open |
Things to do
8 places to go in Dayton
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in Dayton
Swimming Pool
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Dayton
5 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Dayton
2 boat launches without a name on the map.
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
12Baseball
10Tennis
6Pickleball
1Football
1Soccer
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →4 places on the National Register, one a National Historic Landmark
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 4 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The best walking months in Dayton: April to June
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 | 13.0 | 14.0 | 14.5 | 14.3 | 13.5 | 12.3 | 11.2 | 10.2 | 9.8 |
| High (°F) | 49 | 53 | 62 | 71 | 79 | 85 | 88 | 88 | 83 | 72 | 61 | 51 |
| Rain (in) | 5.1 | 5.2 | 5.5 | 5.2 | 4.3 | 4.7 | 4.8 | 3.7 | 4.6 | 3.5 | 4.5 | 6.0 |
October is the driest month (3.5 in) and July the warmest (highs of 88 °F). 6.0 inches fall in December, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 88 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Dayton →
Questions about parks and trails in Dayton
Where can I hike in Dayton?
The longest trail networks: Washington Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Dayton is conserved land?
1% 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 Dayton’s trails?
Delaware Park and Dayton Walking Track Sections 2 and 3 don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Dayton?
7,292 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Dayton or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 136 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Dayton have?
Ahead of 26% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #110 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 Dayton 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 →