Lick Creek Recreation Area
Managed by Town of Dover
50 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Photo: rjones0856 from USA · CC BY 2.0BOutdoors
Outdoors in Dover
39% of Dover’s land is conserved: 942 acres
59 acres are parks and preserves, 30 per 1,000 residents. 0.1 miles of mapped trail cross Dover. 49% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 60% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
39%
942 acres · of 3.9 sq mi of land
Trails
0.1 mi
0.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
59 ac
30 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
49%
of residents within ½ mile
What kind of outdoors town is Dover?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Dover have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Dover is ahead of 60% of U.S. towns. Conserved land holds the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Dover’s overall grade.
Conserved land39% of the land · typical TN town 1% · U.S. 4%A+Trails0.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (0 mi) · TN 0.2 · U.S. 0.4C−Park land30 acres of park per 1,000 residents (59 acres) · TN 10 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home49% 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 60%
LessMore
Few Tennessee towns conserve much land (a typical one, 1%; the U.S., 4%), so Dover’s 39% is ahead of 99% of Tennessee towns, while its trails per square mile lead 16% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ 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.
Who protects it
942 conserved acres
39% of Dover’s land. Who manages Dover’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
National Park Service654 ac
Army Corps of Engineers253 ac
State fish & wildlife211 ac
Historic or Cultural Area · 654 acRecreation Management Area · 253 acState Conservation Area · 211 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fort Donelson National Battlefield Historic or Cultural Area | National Park Service | 654 | Restricted |
| Barkley Recreation Area Recreation Management Area | Army Corps of Engineers | 253 | Open |
| Barkley Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 211 | Restricted |
Things to do
5 places to go in Dover
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Dover
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in Dover
Boat RampIn Day Use Area
DirectionsPlus 1 boat launch without a name on the map.
Scenic views in Dover
Fort Donelson Cumberland Battery
DirectionsPicnic areas in Dover
1 picnic area 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
3Tennis
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). The map also marks 2 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Fort Donelson National BattlefieldDistrict · listed 1966
About itWhen to get out
June is the best month for walking in Dover
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) | 9.9 | 10.8 | 11.9 | 13.1 | 14.1 | 14.6 | 14.4 | 13.5 | 12.4 | 11.2 | 10.2 | 9.7 |
| High (°F) | 47 | 52 | 61 | 71 | 79 | 86 | 89 | 89 | 83 | 72 | 60 | 50 |
| Rain (in) | 4.0 | 4.5 | 5.1 | 5.3 | 5.3 | 4.7 | 4.4 | 3.3 | 3.6 | 3.7 | 4.2 | 4.8 |
August is the driest month (3.3 in) and July the warmest (highs of 89 °F). 5.3 inches fall in April, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 89 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Dover →
Questions about parks and trails in Dover
How much of Dover is conserved land?
39% 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 Dover’s trails?
Lick Creek Recreation Area and Day Use Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Dover?
8,041 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Dover or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 112 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Dover have?
Ahead of 60% 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 Dover 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 →