Independence Park
Park
125 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: ProfReader · CC BY-SA 3.0B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Gonzales
Gonzales has 389 acres of parks, 54 for every 1,000 residents
10% of Gonzales’ land is conserved, about 389 acres. 77% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 1.1 miles of mapped trail cross Gonzales, 0.2 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 73% of U.S. towns · #103 of 642 in Texas. What drives it
Conserved land
10%
389 acres · of 6.1 sq mi of land
Trails
1.1 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
389 ac
54 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
77%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
312 ft
Santa Anna Mound
Lakes & rivers
2
What kind of outdoors town is Gonzales?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Gonzales have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Gonzales is ahead of 73% of U.S. towns, #103 of 642 in Texas. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Gonzales’ overall grade.
Conserved land10% of the land · typical TX town 2% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · TX 0.2 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land54 acres of park per 1,000 residents (389 acres) · TX 9 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home77% 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 Gonzales’ 10% is ahead of 89% of Texas towns, while its trails per square mile lead 43% 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.
Frisbee Golf Course
Park
35 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
East Avenue Lions Park
Park
5 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
389 conserved acres
10% of Gonzales’ land. Who manages Gonzales’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city653 ac
Conservation Easement · 408 acLocal Park · 245 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 167 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Independance Park Local Park | Town or city | 164 | Open |
| Gonzales City Park Local Park | Town or city | 33 | Open |
| East Avenue State Park Local Park | Town or city | 12 | Open |
| Kerr Creek Park Local Park | Town or city | 11 | Open |
| Tinsley Creek Park Local Park | Town or city | 7 | Open |
| East Avenue Lions Park Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| City Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Market Square Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Texas Heros Square Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Confederate Heros Square Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
Things to do
3 places to go in Gonzales
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Gonzales
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Peaks in Gonzales
Santa Anna Mound312 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
2 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
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
4Tennis
2Baseball
1Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →8 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 58 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Kennard HouseBuilding · listed 1971
About itGonzales County CourthouseBuilding · listed 1972
About itGonzales County JailBuilding · listed 1975
About itGonzales Commercial Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1996
About itThomas Harrison and Mollie Spooner HouseBuilding · listed 2003
About itWilliam Buckner and Sue Houston HouseBuilding · listed 2003
About itGonzales Memorial Museum and Amphitheater Historic DistrictBuilding · listed 2004
About itEdwards High SchoolBuilding · listed 2024
About itWhen to get out
April is the best month for walking in Gonzales
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 | 12.8 | 13.6 | 14.0 | 13.9 | 13.2 | 12.3 | 11.4 | 10.6 | 10.3 |
| High (°F) | 63 | 67 | 74 | 81 | 87 | 93 | 96 | 97 | 91 | 83 | 73 | 65 |
| Rain (in) | 2.3 | 2.0 | 2.9 | 2.8 | 4.2 | 3.4 | 2.1 | 2.9 | 3.5 | 3.9 | 2.7 | 2.6 |
February is the driest month (2.0 in) and August the warmest (highs of 97 °F). 4.2 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 97 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Gonzales →
Questions about parks and trails in Gonzales
How much of Gonzales 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 Gonzales’ trails?
Independence Park and Frisbee Golf Course don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Gonzales?
1,083 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Gonzales or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 389 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Gonzales have?
Ahead of 73% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #103 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 Gonzales 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 →