Mario Leal Park
Managed by City of Elsa
21 acres0.9 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
B−Outdoors
Outdoors in Elsa
Elsa has 34 acres of parks, 6.0 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Mario Leal Park (0.9 mi). 89% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 1.3 miles of mapped trail cross Elsa, 0.6 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 53% of U.S. towns · #236 of 642 in Texas. What drives it
Conserved land
2%
20 acres · of 2.1 sq mi of land
Trails
1.3 mi
0.6 per sq mi of land
Park land
34 ac
6.0 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
89%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.3 mi
1.3 mi paths
What kind of outdoors town is Elsa?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Elsa have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Elsa is ahead of 53% of U.S. towns, #236 of 642 in Texas. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
B−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Elsa’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 (1 mi) · TX 0.2 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land6.0 acres of park per 1,000 residents (34 acres) · TX 9 · U.S. 13CParks close to home89% 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 53%
LessMore
Texas towns of 2,500+ (642)Ahead of 63%
Few Texas towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Elsa’s 2% is ahead of 46% 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
The longest trail network is Mario Leal Park, with 0.9 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
20 conserved acres
2% of Elsa’s land. Who manages Elsa’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city40 ac
Local Park · 20 acConservation Easement · 20 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elsa, City of Local Park | Town or city | 20 | Open |
Things to do
6 places to go in Elsa
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Elsa
6 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Biking & sports
1.3 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.3 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
4Basketball
4Baseball
4Tennis
3Tracks
2Football
1Softball
1Soccer
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The walking year in Elsa
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) | 10.7 | 11.2 | 11.9 | 12.8 | 13.4 | 13.8 | 13.6 | 13.1 | 12.3 | 11.5 | 10.8 | 10.5 |
| High (°F) | 71 | 76 | 81 | 87 | 91 | 96 | 97 | 98 | 93 | 88 | 79 | 73 |
| Rain (in) | 0.9 | 0.9 | 1.3 | 1.5 | 2.2 | 2.8 | 2.2 | 1.8 | 4.8 | 2.7 | 1.3 | 1.1 |
January is the driest month (0.9 in) and August the warmest (highs of 98 °F). 4.8 inches fall in September, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 98 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Elsa →
Questions about parks and trails in Elsa
Where can I hike in Elsa?
The longest trail networks: Mario Leal Park, 0.9 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Elsa 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 Elsa’s trails?
Mario Leal Park doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Elsa?
1.3 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.3 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Elsa?
1,055 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Elsa or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 35 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Elsa have?
Ahead of 53% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #236 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 Elsa 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 →