Photo: Larry D. Moore · CC BY 4.0Hempstead has 290 acres of parks, 47 for every 1,000 residents
7% of Hempstead’s land is conserved, about 315 acres. 43% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 1.6 miles of mapped trail cross Hempstead, 0.2 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 60% of U.S. towns · #186 of 642 in Texas. What drives it
How much outdoors does Hempstead have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Hempstead is ahead of 60% of U.S. towns, #186 of 642 in Texas. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
Few Texas towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Hempstead’s 7% is ahead of 84% of Texas towns, while its trails per square mile lead 47% of them.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
315 conserved acres
7% of Hempstead’s land. Who manages Hempstead’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 8 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hempstead City Park Local Park | Town or city | 287 | Open |
| Athletic Fields-Hempstead High School Local Recreation Area | Regional agency | 27 | Open |
| Unknown Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
7 places to go in Hempstead
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
7 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
1.3 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 10 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
April is the best month for walking in Hempstead
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 | 13.7 | 14.1 | 13.9 | 13.2 | 12.3 | 11.4 | 10.6 | 10.2 |
| High (°F) | 63 | 66 | 73 | 80 | 86 | 92 | 95 | 96 | 90 | 82 | 72 | 64 |
| Rain (in) | 3.6 | 3.0 | 3.3 | 3.6 | 4.9 | 4.5 | 2.6 | 3.7 | 4.1 | 4.4 | 4.4 | 3.6 |
July is the driest month (2.6 in) and August the warmest (highs of 96 °F). 4.9 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 96 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Hempstead →
Questions about parks and trails in Hempstead
How much of Hempstead 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.
Where can I bike in Hempstead?
1.3 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.3 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Hempstead?
1,134 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Hempstead or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 290 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Hempstead have?
Ahead of 60% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #186 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 Hempstead neighbors.
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 →