The Pumpkin Patch
Park
2 acres0.1 mi of trail
Pumpkin Patch Path
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: Dclemens1971 · CC BY 4.0B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Walden
Walden has 5.9 miles of mapped trails, 1.7 for every square mile of land
92% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 22 acres are parks and preserves, 12 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 68% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
1%
21 acres · of 3.5 sq mi of land
Trails
5.9 mi
1.7 per sq mi of land
Park land
22 ac
12 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
92%
of residents within ½ mile
What kind of outdoors town is Walden?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Walden have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Walden is ahead of 68% of U.S. towns. Trail miles hold the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Walden’s overall grade.
Conserved land1% of the land · typical TN town 1% · U.S. 4%CTrails1.7 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (6 mi) · TN 0.2 · U.S. 0.4APark land12 acres of park per 1,000 residents (22 acres) · TN 10 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to home92% of residents within a half mile of a park · TN 42% · U.S. 72%A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 68%
LessMore
Few Tennessee towns conserve much land (a typical one, 1%; the U.S., 4%), so Walden’s 1% is ahead of 36% of Tennessee towns, while its trails per square mile lead 98% of them.
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 The Pumpkin Patch, with 0.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
21 conserved acres
1% of Walden’s land. Who manages Walden’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city21 ac
Local Recreation Area · 13 acLocal Park · 9 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mabbitt Springs Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 8 | Open |
| Sylvan City Park Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| Bachman Community Center Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 5 | Open |
| Pumpkin Patch Playground Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
Things to do
2 places to go in Walden
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Walden
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Dog parks in Walden
The Puppy Patch
DirectionsTrails & water
7 named trails
Named trails
Open to bikes · 1.8 miUnpaved · 3.0 mi
McCoy Loop1.1 mi
Mabbit Springs - Falling Water Connector0.8 mi
Mabbit Springs Trail0.5 mi
Spur Trail0.3 mi
Emma Bell Miles Trail0.1 mi
Pumpkin Patch Path0.1 mi
Boardwalk0.1 mi
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
2Tennis
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →5 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
When to get out
The best walking months in Walden: April to June and 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) | 48 | 52 | 60 | 70 | 77 | 83 | 86 | 86 | 81 | 71 | 59 | 50 |
| Rain (in) | 5.6 | 5.7 | 5.7 | 5.5 | 4.6 | 4.9 | 4.8 | 4.1 | 4.5 | 4.2 | 5.0 | 6.1 |
August is the driest month (4.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 86 °F). 6.1 inches fall in December, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 86 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Walden →
Next door
Walden and its neighbors
Walden has the second most mapped trails of the 3 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Walden | 1% | 1.7 | 12 | 92% | B+ |
| Signal Mountain | 9% | 1.1 | 21 | 86% | A |
| Falling Water | 14% | 0.4 | under 1 | 10% | C+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Walden
Where can I hike in Walden?
The longest trail networks: The Pumpkin Patch, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Walden 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 Walden’s trails?
The Pumpkin Patch doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Walden?
8,333 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Walden or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 22 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Walden have?
Ahead of 68% 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 Walden 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 →