Estill Springs Walking Trail
Park
26 acres1.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 3.0B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Estill Springs
33% of Estill Springs’ land is conserved: 1,020 acres
The biggest trail networks: Estill Springs Walking Trail (1.1 mi). 66 acres are parks and preserves, 24 per 1,000 residents. 43% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 70% of U.S. towns · #18 of 177 in Tennessee. What drives it
Conserved land
33%
1,020 acres · of 4.8 sq mi of land
Trails
1.5 mi
0.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
66 ac
24 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
43%
of residents within ½ mile
What kind of outdoors town is Estill Springs?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Estill Springs have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Estill Springs is ahead of 70% of U.S. towns, #18 of 177 in Tennessee. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Estill Springs’ overall grade.
Conserved land33% of the land · typical TN town 1% · U.S. 4%A+Trails0.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (2 mi) · TN 0.2 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land24 acres of park per 1,000 residents (66 acres) · TN 10 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home43% 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 70%
LessMore
Tennessee towns of 2,500+ (177)Ahead of 90%
Few Tennessee towns conserve much land (a typical one, 1%; the U.S., 4%), so Estill Springs’ 33% is ahead of 99% of Tennessee towns, while its trails per square mile lead 65% of them.
Water is 6% of Estill Springs’ area (0 of 5 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 31%.
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 Estill Springs Walking Trail, with 1.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Comunity Walking Trail
Park
5 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
1,020 conserved acres
33% of Estill Springs’ land. Water is left out: Estill Springs has 4.8 square miles of land and 0.3 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Estill Springs’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Tennessee Valley Authority1,003 ac
Town or city49 ac
Other state land13 ac
Not Designated · 1,003 acLocal Park · 49 acState Park · 13 acState Recreation Area · 1 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 6 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) Not Designated | Tennessee Valley Authority | 1,003 | Unknown |
| Estill Springs Park Local Park | Town or city | 26 | Open |
| Taylor Creek Greenway Local Park | Town or city | 18 | Open |
| Tims Ford State Park | Other state land | 13 | Open |
| Estill Springs Community Trail Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Rock Creek Public Use Area State Recreation Area | Other state land | 1 | Open |
Things to do
3 places to go in Estill Springs
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Estill Springs
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Estill Springs
1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
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
3Baseball
1Equestrian
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Estill Springs: 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 | 10.9 | 11.9 | 13.0 | 14.0 | 14.5 | 14.3 | 13.5 | 12.3 | 11.2 | 10.3 | 9.8 |
| High (°F) | 49 | 54 | 62 | 71 | 78 | 85 | 88 | 88 | 83 | 73 | 61 | 52 |
| Rain (in) | 5.2 | 5.3 | 5.5 | 5.2 | 5.0 | 5.2 | 4.7 | 4.2 | 4.3 | 3.5 | 4.6 | 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 Estill Springs →
Next door
Estill Springs and its neighbors
Estill Springs has the most mapped trails of the 2 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Estill Springs | 33% | 0.3 | 24 | 43% | B+ |
| Decherd | 4% | under 0.1 | 5 | 57% | C− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Estill Springs
Where can I hike in Estill Springs?
The longest trail networks: Estill Springs Walking Trail, 1.1 miles; Comunity Walking Trail, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Estill Springs is conserved land?
33% 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 Estill Springs’ trails?
Estill Springs Walking Trail and Comunity Walking Trail don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Estill Springs?
2,317 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Estill Springs or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 66 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Estill Springs have?
Ahead of 70% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #18 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 Estill Springs 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 →