Sandy Creek Park
Park
17 acres0.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Michael Barera · CC BY-SA 4.0COutdoors
Outdoors in Emory
Emory has 20 acres of parks, 17 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Sandy Creek Park (0.5 mi). 58% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 0.5 miles of mapped trail cross Emory, 0.3 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 33% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
under 1%
0 acres · of 2.0 sq mi of land
Trails
0.5 mi
0.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
20 ac
17 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
58%
of residents within ½ mile
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Emory have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Emory is ahead of 33% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
C
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Emory’s overall grade.
Conserved landunder 1% of the land · typical TX town 2% · U.S. 4%DTrails0.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · TX 0.2 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land17 acres of park per 1,000 residents (20 acres) · TX 9 · U.S. 13BParks close to home58% 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 33%
LessMore
Few Texas towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Emory’s under 1% is ahead of 6% of Texas towns, while its trails per square mile lead 52% 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 Sandy Creek Park, with 0.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Ruby McKeown City Park
Park
3 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
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
1Baseball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 8 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Rains County CourthouseBuilding · listed 2003
About itWhen to get out
April is the best month for walking in Emory
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) | 10.2 | 11.0 | 11.9 | 13.0 | 13.8 | 14.3 | 14.1 | 13.4 | 12.3 | 11.3 | 10.4 | 10.0 |
| High (°F) | 56 | 60 | 67 | 75 | 82 | 89 | 94 | 94 | 88 | 78 | 66 | 58 |
| Rain (in) | 3.3 | 3.6 | 4.4 | 4.1 | 4.7 | 4.0 | 2.6 | 2.7 | 3.3 | 5.1 | 3.6 | 4.1 |
July is the driest month (2.6 in) and August the warmest (highs of 94 °F). 5.1 inches fall in October, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 94 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Emory →
Questions about parks and trails in Emory
Where can I hike in Emory?
The longest trail networks: Sandy Creek Park, 0.5 miles; Ruby McKeown City Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Emory is conserved land?
under 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 Emory’s trails?
Sandy Creek Park and Ruby McKeown City Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Emory?
22 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Emory or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 20 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Emory have?
Ahead of 33% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade. 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 Emory 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 →