Karns Community Park
Managed by County of Knox
14 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 3.0COutdoors
Outdoors in Karns
Karns has 27 acres of parks, 6.5 for every 1,000 residents
88% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 0.1 miles of mapped trail cross Karns. 1% of Karns’ land is conserved, about 24 acres.
Ahead of 32% of U.S. towns · #91 of 177 in Tennessee. What drives it
Conserved land
1%
24 acres · of 3.0 sq mi of land
Trails
0.1 mi
0.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
27 ac
6.5 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
88%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.3 mi
1.3 mi paths
What kind of outdoors town is Karns?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Karns have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Karns is ahead of 32% of U.S. towns, #91 of 177 in Tennessee. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
C
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Karns’ 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. 0.4C−Park land6.5 acres of park per 1,000 residents (27 acres) · TN 10 · U.S. 13C+Parks close to home88% 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 32%
LessMore
Tennessee towns of 2,500+ (177)Ahead of 49%
Few Tennessee towns conserve much land (a typical one, 1%; the U.S., 4%), so Karns’ 1% is ahead of 44% of Tennessee towns, while its trails per square mile lead 20% 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.
Who protects it
24 conserved acres
1% of Karns’ land. Who manages Karns’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits22 ac
County1 ac
Local Park · 22 acLocal Recreation Area · 1 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Karns Community Park Local Park | Land trusts & nonprofits | 22 | Open |
| Northwest Sports Complex Local Recreation Area | County | 1 | Open |
Things to do
9 places to go in Karns
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in Karns
Karns Community PoolIn Karns Community Park
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Karns
Karns Elementary School Playground 1
DirectionsPlus 7 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Biking & sports
1.3 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.3 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
6Baseball
5Tennis
1Football
1Softball
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Karns: 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 | 13.1 | 14.1 | 14.6 | 14.4 | 13.5 | 12.4 | 11.2 | 10.2 | 9.7 |
| High (°F) | 47 | 52 | 61 | 71 | 78 | 85 | 88 | 87 | 82 | 71 | 60 | 50 |
| Rain (in) | 5.1 | 5.4 | 5.2 | 5.1 | 3.9 | 4.5 | 4.7 | 3.9 | 4.1 | 3.5 | 4.6 | 5.9 |
October is the driest month (3.5 in) and July the warmest (highs of 88 °F). 5.9 inches fall in December, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 88 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Karns →
Questions about parks and trails in Karns
Where can I hike in Karns?
The longest trail networks: Hidden Meadows Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Karns 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 Karns’ trails?
Karns Community Park and Hidden Meadows Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Karns?
1.3 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.3 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Karns?
6,203 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Karns or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 27 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Karns have?
Ahead of 32% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #91 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 Karns 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 →