Cardinal Park
Park
6 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Jim Evans · CC BY-SA 4.0B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Columbus
Columbus has 87 acres of parks, 22 for every 1,000 residents
86% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 1.4 miles of mapped trail cross Columbus, 0.5 per square mile of land. 4% of Columbus’ land is conserved, about 85 acres.
Ahead of 72% of U.S. towns · #108 of 642 in Texas. What drives it
Conserved land
4%
85 acres · of 3.0 sq mi of land
Trails
1.4 mi
0.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
87 ac
22 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
86%
of residents within ½ mile
What kind of outdoors town is Columbus?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Columbus have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Columbus is ahead of 72% of U.S. towns, #108 of 642 in Texas. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of residents near a park ranks highest, conserved land lowest.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Columbus’ overall grade.
Conserved land4% of the land · typical TX town 2% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · TX 0.2 · U.S. 0.4BPark land22 acres of park per 1,000 residents (87 acres) · TX 9 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home86% 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 72%
LessMore
Texas towns of 2,500+ (642)Ahead of 83%
Few Texas towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Columbus’ 4% is ahead of 74% of Texas towns, while its trails per square mile lead 69% 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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Midtown Park
Park
5 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
85 conserved acres
4% of Columbus’ land. Who manages Columbus’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city170 ac
Local Park · 85 acRecreation or Education Easement · 56 acConservation Easement · 29 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Columbus Golf Course Local Park | Town or city | 56 | Open |
| Community Park Local Park | Town or city | 17 | Open |
| Cardinal Park Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| MidTown Park Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Open |
| Memorial Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
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
7Baseball
5Soccer
4Tennis
2Volleyball
1Softball
1Football
1Skate park
1Pickleball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →6 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 72 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Stafford Bank and Opera HouseBuilding · listed 1973
About itColorado County CourthouseBuilding · listed 1976
About itColorado County Courthouse Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1978
About itState Highway 3 Bridge at the Colorado RiverStructure · listed 1996
About itHarrison-Hastedt HouseBuilding · listed 2004
About itOld Spanish Trail from US 90 to I-10Structure · listed 2013
About itWhen to get out
April is the best month for walking in Columbus
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 | 12.9 | 13.6 | 14.0 | 13.9 | 13.2 | 12.3 | 11.4 | 10.6 | 10.2 |
| High (°F) | 63 | 67 | 73 | 80 | 87 | 92 | 95 | 96 | 91 | 83 | 72 | 65 |
| Rain (in) | 3.3 | 2.6 | 3.3 | 3.6 | 4.6 | 4.7 | 2.7 | 3.3 | 4.2 | 5.0 | 3.7 | 3.2 |
February is the driest month (2.6 in) and August the warmest (highs of 96 °F). 5.0 inches fall in October, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 96 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Columbus →
Questions about parks and trails in Columbus
Where can I hike in Columbus?
The longest trail networks: Midtown Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Columbus is conserved land?
4% 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 Columbus’ trails?
Cardinal Park and Midtown Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Columbus?
58 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Columbus or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 87 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Columbus have?
Ahead of 72% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #108 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 Columbus 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 →