Brazoria National Wildlife Refuge
Managed by United States Fish and Wildlife Service
156 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
B−Outdoors
Outdoors in Alvin
Alvin has 14 miles of mapped trails, 0.6 for every square mile of land
184 acres are parks and preserves, 6.5 per 1,000 residents. 2% of Alvin’s land is conserved, about 321 acres. 64% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 48% of U.S. towns · #282 of 642 in Texas. What drives it
Conserved land
2%
321 acres · of 22.9 sq mi of land
Trails
14 mi
0.6 per sq mi of land
Park land
184 ac
6.5 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
64%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
6.1 mi
4.8 mi lanes · 1.3 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
2 boat launches
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Alvin have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Alvin is ahead of 48% of U.S. towns, #282 of 642 in Texas. Trail miles hold the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
B−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Alvin’s overall grade.
Conserved land2% of the land · typical TX town 2% · U.S. 4%C+Trails0.6 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (14 mi) · TX 0.2 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land6.5 acres of park per 1,000 residents (184 acres) · TX 9 · U.S. 13C+Parks close to home64% of residents within a half mile of a park · TX 69% · U.S. 72%B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 48%
LessMore
Texas towns of 2,500+ (642)Ahead of 56%
Few Texas towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Alvin’s 2% is ahead of 57% of Texas towns, while its trails per square mile lead 77% 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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Morgan Park
Park
19 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
National Oak Park
Park
10 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 8 parks & preserves
Brazoria National Wildlife Refuge156 acres · United States Fish and Wildlife Service
Pearson Park27 acres
DirectionsMorgan Park19 acres
National Oak Park10 acres
Lions Park10 acres
San Bernard National Wildlife Refuge5 acres · United States Fish and Wildlife Service
Brazos Bend State Park5 acres · Texas Parks and Wildlife Department
Resoft Park5 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
321 conserved acres
2% of Alvin’s land. Who manages Alvin’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city306 ac
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service224 ac
Other state land49 ac
Joint15 ac
State fish & wildlife10 ac
County10 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits2 ac
National Wildlife Refuge · 224 acLocal Park · 134 acConservation Easement · 134 acOther Easement · 39 acRecreation or Education Easement · 27 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 2 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 3 of 37 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brazoria National Wildlife Refuge National Wildlife Refuge | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 219 | Restricted |
| Hugh Adams Park Local Park | Town or city | 78 | Open |
| Pearson Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 22 | Open |
| W. F. Ramsey Unit State Other or Unknown | Other state land | 17 | Unknown |
| Confederate Cemetery Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 15 | Open |
| Newman Park Local Park | Town or city | 12 | Open |
| Christmas Bay Coastal Preserve State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 10 | Restricted |
| Lions Park Local Park | Town or city | 10 | Open |
| Morgan Park Local Park | Town or city | 10 | Open |
| Darrington unit State Other or Unknown | Other state land | 7 | Unknown |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
11 places to go in Alvin
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Alvin
Obstacle Course
DirectionsPlus 6 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Alvin
The Fetching Lab Brewery
DirectionsBoat launches in Alvin
2 boat launches without a name on the map.
Disc golf in Alvin
1 disc golf course without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
1 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
6.1 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
4.8 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
1.3 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
26Tennis
19Baseball
2Basketball
2Beach volleyball
1Football
1Skate park
1Soccer
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 6 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Alvin Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway Passenger DepotBuilding · listed 2019
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Alvin: April and May
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) | 10.4 | 11.1 | 11.9 | 12.8 | 13.6 | 14.0 | 13.9 | 13.2 | 12.3 | 11.4 | 10.6 | 10.3 |
| High (°F) | 64 | 67 | 73 | 79 | 85 | 90 | 92 | 93 | 89 | 82 | 73 | 66 |
| Rain (in) | 4.4 | 2.8 | 3.2 | 3.7 | 4.9 | 5.3 | 4.3 | 5.3 | 5.9 | 5.1 | 4.2 | 4.3 |
February is the driest month (2.8 in) and August the warmest (highs of 93 °F). 5.9 inches fall in September, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 93 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Alvin →
Next door
Alvin and its neighbors
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alvin | 2% | 0.6 | 6 | 64% | B− |
| Manvel | under 1% | 0.2 | under 1 | 23% | D |
| Pearland | 3% | 0.4 | 8 | 92% | B |
| Iowa Colony | under 1% | 0.4 | 10 | 78% | C+ |
| Hitchcock | 11% | 0.6 | 93 | 42% | A− |
| Friendswood | 3% | 0.2 | 8 | 80% | B− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Alvin
How much of Alvin 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 Alvin’s trails?
Brazoria National Wildlife Refuge and Pearson Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Alvin?
6.1 miles of bike routes are on the map: 4.8 of painted or protected lanes and 1.3 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Alvin?
18,918 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Alvin or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 184 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Alvin have?
Ahead of 48% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #282 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 Alvin 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 →