Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY-SA 4.0Sewanee has 21 miles of mapped trails, 5.3 for every square mile of land
The biggest trail networks: Abbo's Alley (1.1 mi). 91% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 7% of Sewanee’s land is conserved, about 163 acres.
Ahead of 85% of U.S. towns · #5 of 177 in Tennessee. What drives it
What kind of outdoors town is Sewanee?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
How much outdoors does Sewanee have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Sewanee is ahead of 85% of U.S. towns, #5 of 177 in Tennessee. Trail miles hold the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
Few Tennessee towns conserve much land (a typical one, 1%; the U.S., 4%), so Sewanee’s 7% is ahead of 84% of Tennessee towns, while its trails per square mile lead 100% of them.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Pick a walk
The longest trail network is Abbo's Alley, with 1.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
163 conserved acres
7% of Sewanee’s land. Who manages Sewanee’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 163 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
3 places to go in Sewanee
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
12 named trails and 3 lakes & rivers
2 more trails
2.9 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
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.
The best walking months in Sewanee: April to August
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) | 46 | 50 | 59 | 68 | 75 | 82 | 84 | 84 | 79 | 69 | 58 | 49 |
| Rain (in) | 5.9 | 5.7 | 6.0 | 6.1 | 5.2 | 5.7 | 5.4 | 4.6 | 4.5 | 4.0 | 5.3 | 6.7 |
October is the driest month (4.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 6.7 inches fall in December, the wettest month. The climate in Sewanee →
Questions about parks and trails in Sewanee
Where can I hike in Sewanee?
The longest trail networks: Abbo's Alley, 1.1 miles; Elliott Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Sewanee is conserved land?
7% 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 Sewanee’s trails?
Abbo's Alley and Manigault Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Sewanee?
2.9 miles of bike routes are on the map: 2.0 of painted or protected lanes and 1.0 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Sewanee?
11,643 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Sewanee or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 32 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Sewanee have?
Ahead of 85% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #5 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 Sewanee neighbors.
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 →