Old Reagan County Courthouse · Photo: BlueSteel75 at en.wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.010% of Big Lake’s land is conserved: 158 acres
2.8 miles of mapped trail cross Big Lake, 1.2 per square mile of land. 94% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 12 acres are parks and preserves, 4.1 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 76% of U.S. towns · #83 of 642 in Texas. What drives it
What kind of outdoors town is Big Lake?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
How much outdoors does Big Lake have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Big Lake is ahead of 76% of U.S. towns, #83 of 642 in Texas. Trail miles hold the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
Few Texas towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Big Lake’s 10% is ahead of 90% of Texas towns, while its trails per square mile lead 92% 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 Reagan County Park, with 0.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Josh Mitchell Park
Bertrand Park
158 conserved acres
10% of Big Lake’s land. Who manages Big Lake’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Permanent University Fund State Resource Management Area | State land board | 148 | Closed |
| Reagan County Park Local Park | County | 7 | Open |
| Josh Mitchell Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
| Bertrand Park Local Park | County | 1 | Open |
2 places to go in Big Lake
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
0.0 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.
April is the best month for walking in Big Lake
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 | 13.7 | 14.2 | 14.0 | 13.3 | 12.3 | 11.3 | 10.5 | 10.1 |
| High (°F) | 59 | 64 | 72 | 80 | 87 | 92 | 94 | 94 | 87 | 78 | 67 | 60 |
| Rain (in) | 0.9 | 0.9 | 1.1 | 1.4 | 2.3 | 2.2 | 1.4 | 2.3 | 2.6 | 1.8 | 1.2 | 0.7 |
December is the driest month (0.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 94 °F). 2.6 inches fall in September, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 94 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Big Lake →
Questions about parks and trails in Big Lake
Where can I hike in Big Lake?
The longest trail networks: Reagan County Park, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Big Lake is conserved land?
10% 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 Big Lake’s trails?
Reagan County Park and Josh Mitchell Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Big Lake?
64 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Big Lake or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 12 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Big Lake have?
Ahead of 76% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #83 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 Big Lake 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 →