City Park
Park
21 acres0.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Larry D. Moore · CC BY 4.0C+Outdoors
Outdoors in Ballinger
Ballinger has 32 acres of parks, 9.0 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: City Park (0.5 mi). 90% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 1% of Ballinger’s land is conserved, about 22 acres.
Ahead of 43% of U.S. towns · #311 of 642 in Texas. What drives it
Conserved land
1%
22 acres · of 3.5 sq mi of land
Trails
0.7 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
32 ac
9.0 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
90%
of residents within ½ mile
What kind of outdoors town is Ballinger?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Ballinger have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Ballinger is ahead of 43% of U.S. towns, #311 of 642 in Texas. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
C+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Ballinger’s overall grade.
Conserved land1% of the land · typical TX town 2% · U.S. 4%CTrails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · TX 0.2 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land9.0 acres of park per 1,000 residents (32 acres) · TX 9 · U.S. 13C+Parks close to home90% 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 43%
LessMore
Texas towns of 2,500+ (642)Ahead of 52%
Few Texas towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Ballinger’s 1% is ahead of 37% of Texas towns, while its trails per square mile lead 45% of them.
NoteFew parks or trails are mapped in Ballinger. OpenStreetMap is mapped by volunteers and coverage varies from town to town, so a town with unmapped parks scores low on 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 City Park, with 0.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
22 conserved acres
1% of Ballinger’s land. Who manages Ballinger’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city45 ac
Local Park · 19 acConservation Easement · 19 acLocal Recreation Area · 3 acRecreation or Education Easement · 3 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| City Park Local Park | Town or city | 17 | Open |
| Chandler Field Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Unknown Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
Things to do
1 places to go in Ballinger
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Ballinger
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
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
5Tennis
3Baseball
2Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →3 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 9 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
April is the best month for walking in Ballinger
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) | 10.3 | 11.0 | 11.9 | 12.9 | 13.8 | 14.2 | 14.0 | 13.3 | 12.3 | 11.3 | 10.5 | 10.1 |
| High (°F) | 60 | 64 | 72 | 80 | 87 | 93 | 97 | 96 | 89 | 80 | 69 | 61 |
| Rain (in) | 1.1 | 1.5 | 1.8 | 1.8 | 3.2 | 3.2 | 1.8 | 2.1 | 2.6 | 2.5 | 1.6 | 1.1 |
January is the driest month (1.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 97 °F). 3.2 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 97 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Ballinger →
Questions about parks and trails in Ballinger
Where can I hike in Ballinger?
The longest trail networks: City Park, 0.5 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Ballinger is conserved land?
1% 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 Ballinger’s trails?
City Park doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Ballinger?
52 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Ballinger or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 32 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Ballinger have?
Ahead of 43% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #311 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 Ballinger 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 →