Texoma Health Foundation Park
Park
72 acres2.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Renelibrary · CC BY-SA 3.0B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Denison
Denison has 724 acres of parks, 28 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Texoma Health Foundation Park (2.1 mi), Waterloo Lake Regional Park (1.7 mi), Forest Park (0.5 mi). 7% of Denison’s land is conserved, about 1,354 acres. 14 miles of mapped trail cross Denison, 0.5 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 73% of U.S. towns · #102 of 642 in Texas. What drives it
Conserved land
7%
1,354 acres · of 29.0 sq mi of land
Trails
14 mi
0.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
724 ac
28 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
70%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.9 mi
Lakes & rivers
3
1 boat launch
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Denison have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Denison is ahead of 73% of U.S. towns, #102 of 642 in Texas. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; park acres per resident rank highest, the share of residents near a park lowest.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Denison’s overall grade.
Conserved land7% of the land · typical TX town 2% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (14 mi) · TX 0.2 · U.S. 0.4BPark land28 acres of park per 1,000 residents (724 acres) · TX 9 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home70% 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 73%
LessMore
Texas towns of 2,500+ (642)Ahead of 84%
Few Texas towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Denison’s 7% is ahead of 85% of Texas towns, while its trails per square mile lead 70% 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
The longest trail network is Texoma Health Foundation Park, with 2.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Waterloo Lake Regional Park
Park
146 acres1.7 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Forest Park
Park
6 acres0.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Loy Park
Park
78 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 10 parks & preserves
Texoma Health Foundation Park72 acres · 2.1 mi of trail
Waterloo Lake Regional Park146 acres · 1.7 mi of trail
DirectionsForest Park6 acres · 0.5 mi of trail
Munson Park63 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
Loy Park78 acres
Flora Park18 acres
Eisenhower Brithplace State Historic Site8 acres · Texas Historical Commission
Jones Park4 acres
Morton Street Mini Park1 acres
Heritage Park1 acres
Who protects it
1,354 conserved acres
7% of Denison’s land. Who manages Denison’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city901 ac
Army Corps of Engineers703 ac
County377 ac
Joint10 ac
Other state land8 ac
Not recorded2 ac
Other Easement · 705 acConservation Easement · 506 acLocal Park · 505 acLocal Recreation Area · 134 acRecreation or Education Easement · 133 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 704 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 2 of 27 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Waterloo Lake Regional Park Local Park | Town or city | 238 | Open |
| Loy Lake Park Local Park | County | 188 | Open |
| Munson Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 134 | Open |
| T-Bar Softball Complex Local Park | Town or city | 27 | Open |
| Raynal Park Local Park | Town or city | 26 | Open |
| Forest Park Local Park | Town or city | 13 | Open |
| Eisenhower Birthplace State Historic Site State Historic or Cultural Area | Other state land | 8 | Open |
| Ray Park Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Open |
| Jones Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| George Hopkins Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
3 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
5 places to go in Denison
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Denison
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Denison
2 dog parks without a name on the map.
Boat launches in Denison
1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
3 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.9 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.9 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
24Tennis
11Baseball
7Soccer
3Football
1Pickleball
1Beach volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →4 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 33 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
April is the best month for walking in Denison
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) | 10.1 | 10.9 | 11.9 | 13.0 | 13.9 | 14.4 | 14.2 | 13.4 | 12.3 | 11.3 | 10.4 | 9.9 |
| High (°F) | 53 | 58 | 66 | 74 | 81 | 89 | 94 | 94 | 87 | 76 | 64 | 55 |
| Rain (in) | 2.3 | 2.6 | 3.6 | 3.7 | 5.5 | 4.2 | 2.8 | 2.7 | 3.6 | 4.2 | 3.0 | 3.3 |
January is the driest month (2.3 in) and August the warmest (highs of 94 °F). 5.5 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 94 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Denison →
Next door
Denison and its neighbors
Denison has the second most mapped trails of the 2 towns around it. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Denison | 7% | 0.5 | 28 | 70% | B+ |
| Sherman | 2% | 0.3 | 10 | 73% | B− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Denison
Where can I hike in Denison?
The longest trail networks: Texoma Health Foundation Park, 2.1 miles; Waterloo Lake Regional Park, 1.7 miles; Forest Park, 0.5 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Denison is conserved land?
7% 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 Denison’s trails?
Texoma Health Foundation Park and Waterloo Lake Regional Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Denison?
0.9 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.9 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Denison?
5,344 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Denison or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 758 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Denison have?
Ahead of 73% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #102 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 Denison 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 →