Dyess Air Park
Park
46 acres3.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: Atownbman · CC BY-SA 4.0B−Outdoors
Outdoors in Abilene
Abilene has 53 miles of mapped trails, 0.5 for every square mile of land
The biggest trail networks: Dyess Air Park (3.3 mi), Red Bud Park (3 mi), Grover Nelson Park (1.8 mi). 2% of Abilene’s land is conserved, about 1,371 acres. 54% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 48% of U.S. towns · #283 of 642 in Texas. What drives it
Conserved land
2%
1,371 acres · of 106.7 sq mi of land
Trails
53 mi
0.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,477 ac
12 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
54%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
12 mi
10 mi lanes · 2.3 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
18
5 boat launches
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Abilene have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Abilene is ahead of 48% of U.S. towns, #283 of 642 in Texas. Trail miles hold the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
B−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Abilene’s overall grade.
Conserved land2% of the land · typical TX town 2% · U.S. 4%C+Trails0.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (53 mi) · TX 0.2 · U.S. 0.4BPark land12 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,477 acres) · TX 9 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to home54% of residents within a half mile of a park · TX 69% · U.S. 72%C+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 48%
LessMore
Texas towns of 2,500+ (642)Ahead of 56%
Among the 400 U.S. cities of 100,000 or more, Abilene ranks #363 on Outdoors.
Few Texas towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Abilene’s 2% is ahead of 54% of Texas towns, while its trails per square mile lead 71% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to B−. 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 Dyess Air Park, with 3.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Grover Nelson Park
Park
167 acres1.8 mi of trail
Nelson Park Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Stevenson Park
Park
21 acres0.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Wesley Court Senior Living Park
Park
6 acres0.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 37 parks & preserves
Dyess Air Park46 acres · 3.3 mi of trail
DirectionsRed Bud Park133 acres · 3 mi of trail
DirectionsGrover Nelson Park167 acres · 1.8 mi of trail
DirectionsOscar Rose Park49 acres · 0.8 mi of trail
DirectionsArthur Sears Park21 acres · 0.7 mi of trail
DirectionsStevenson Park21 acres · 0.5 mi of trail
DirectionsWesley Court Senior Living Park6 acres · 0.5 mi of trail
DirectionsJohnson Park26 acres · 0.4 mi of trail
DirectionsHardin Simmons University Park4 acres · 0.4 mi of trail
Lake Kirby Park54 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsAbilene Regional Medical Center Park4 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
Everman Park3 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsCal Young Park42 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsWill Hair Park39 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsCobb Park17 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsC W Gill Park11 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsAllen Ridge Boardwalk Plaza Park5 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
Chimney Rock Neighborhood Park3 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
Kojie Park1 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsSea Bee Park71 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · City of Abilene
DirectionsScarborough Park17 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsGalaxy Park8 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsReyes Flores Park6 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsNelson Wilson Park3 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Bowie Park1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Jackson Park21 acres
DirectionsVaughn Camp Park18 acres
DirectionsKirby Park13 acres
DirectionsSouthwest Drive Complex12 acres · City of Abilene
DirectionsMLK Park11 acres
DirectionsCeder Creek Waterway8 acres · City of Abilene
DirectionsNorth Park5 acres
DirectionsLee Park5 acres
DirectionsTanglewood Recreation Center3 acres
North 403 acres
Carver Park2 acres
DirectionsWah Wahtaysee Park1 acres
Who protects it
1,371 conserved acres
2% of Abilene’s land. Who manages Abilene’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city2,702 ac
Local Recreation Area · 1,074 acRecreation or Education Easement · 1,007 acConservation Easement · 352 acLocal Park · 270 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 28 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sea Bee Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 204 | Open |
| Grover Nelson Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 179 | Open |
| Redbud Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 132 | Open |
| Lake Kirby Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 121 | Open |
| Oscar Rose Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 77 | Open |
| Cal Young Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 72 | Open |
| Johnson Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 52 | Open |
| Southeast Lake Fort Phantom Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 49 | Open |
| Will Hair Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 47 | Open |
| MLK Park Local Park | Town or city | 42 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
77 places to go in Abilene
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Abilene
Nelson Splash!In Grover Nelson Park
DirectionsRed Bud SplashIn Red Bud Park
DirectionsRed Bud SplashIn Red Bud Park
DirectionsScarborough Splash PadIn Scarborough Park
Directions56 playgrounds are on OpenStreetMap in all; the list shows named ones from the first 30.
Dog parks in Abilene
Camp Barkeley Dog ParkIn Grover Nelson Park
DirectionsPlus 7 dog parks without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Picnic areas in Abilene
7 picnic areas without a name on the map.
Disc golf in Abilene
Wildcat Disc Golf Course
DirectionsTrails & water
1 named trail and 18 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 1.7 mi
Nelson Park Trail0.2 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Canyon Rock LakelakeCatclaw LakelakeClear Fork Diversion DamreservoirDiamond LakelakeElmer Griffith LakereservoirFairways Development Reservoir Number 1reservoirFairways Development Reservoir Number 2reservoirFaubus Fountain LakelakeFishing PondpondFort Phantom Hill LakereservoirHardin Simmons University PondpondJ C Griffith LakereservoirKirby LakereservoirLytle LakelakeR J Griffith LakelakeWoodrow Griffith LakereservoirZoo Lake Number 1lakeZoo Lake Number 2lake
Biking & sports
12 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
10 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
2.3 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
142Tennis
115Baseball
38Soccer
30Basketball
20Golf
17Football
6Beach volleyball
4Pickleball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →59 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 78 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Henry Sayles HouseBuilding · listed 1976
About itU.S. Weather Bureau BuildingBuilding · listed 1982
About itParamount TheaterBuilding · listed 1982
About itWilliam and Shirley Swenson HouseBuilding · listed 1987
About itParramore Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1991
About itState Epileptic Colony Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1991
About itSayles Boulevard Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1992
About it1915 Taylor County CourthouseBuilding · listed 1992
About itA. T. Jones HouseBuilding · listed 1992
About itAbilene Christian College Administration BuildingBuilding · listed 1992
About itAbilene Fire Station No. 2Building · listed 1992
About itAbilene Street Railway Company BarnBuilding · listed 1992
About it47 more on the History page.
When to get out
April is the best month for walking in Abilene
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) | 10.2 | 11.0 | 11.9 | 12.9 | 13.8 | 14.3 | 14.1 | 13.3 | 12.3 | 11.3 | 10.4 | 10.0 |
| High (°F) | 58 | 62 | 70 | 78 | 85 | 92 | 96 | 95 | 88 | 78 | 67 | 58 |
| Rain (in) | 1.1 | 1.4 | 1.7 | 2.1 | 3.3 | 3.4 | 2.0 | 2.4 | 3.0 | 2.7 | 1.5 | 1.2 |
January is the driest month (1.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 96 °F). 3.4 inches fall in June, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 96 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Abilene →
Next door
Abilene and its neighbors
Abilene has the most mapped trails of the 3 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Questions about parks and trails in Abilene
Where can I hike in Abilene?
The longest trail networks: Dyess Air Park, 3.3 miles; Red Bud Park, 3 miles; Grover Nelson Park, 1.8 miles; Oscar Rose Park, 0.8 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Abilene is conserved land?
2% of its land, against a typical 2% for a Texas town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Abilene’s trails?
Dyess Air Park and Red Bud Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Abilene?
12 miles of bike routes are on the map: 10 of painted or protected lanes and 2.3 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Abilene?
3,223 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Abilene or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,527 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Abilene have?
Ahead of 48% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #283 of 642 in Texas. 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 Abilene 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 →