Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge
Managed by United States Fish and Wildlife Service
666 acres10.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Larry D. Moore · CC BY 4.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Hidalgo
Hidalgo has 14 miles of mapped trails, 1.6 for every square mile of land
12% of Hidalgo’s land is conserved, about 665 acres. The biggest trail networks: Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge (10.4 mi), Hidalgo Park Museum (0.7 mi), Valle Alto Park - Hidalgo Municipal Park (0.7 mi). 85% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 81% of U.S. towns · #58 of 642 in Texas. What drives it
Conserved land
12%
665 acres · of 8.3 sq mi of land
Trails
14 mi
1.6 per sq mi of land
Park land
116 ac
8.0 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
85%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
4.6 mi
3.9 mi lanes · 0.7 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
2
What kind of outdoors town is Hidalgo?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Hidalgo have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Hidalgo is ahead of 81% of U.S. towns, #58 of 642 in Texas. Trail miles hold the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Hidalgo’s overall grade.
Conserved land12% of the land · typical TX town 2% · U.S. 4%A−Trails1.6 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (14 mi) · TX 0.2 · U.S. 0.4APark land8.0 acres of park per 1,000 residents (116 acres) · TX 9 · U.S. 13C+Parks close to home85% 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 81%
LessMore
Texas towns of 2,500+ (642)Ahead of 91%
Few Texas towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Hidalgo’s 12% is ahead of 92% of Texas towns, while its trails per square mile lead 95% 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 Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge, with 10.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Valle Alto Park - Hidalgo Municipal Park
Managed by Hidalgo County Precinct 2
12 acres0.7 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 6 parks & preserves
Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge666 acres · 10.4 mi of trail · United States Fish and Wildlife Service
DirectionsHidalgo Park Museum32 acres · 0.7 mi of trail
DirectionsValle Alto Park - Hidalgo Municipal Park12 acres · 0.7 mi of trail · Hidalgo County Precinct 2
DirectionsHidalgo Memorial Park11 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsMcAllen Park2 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsPrecinct 2 Inclusive Park19 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
665 conserved acres
12% of Hidalgo’s land. Who manages Hidalgo’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service1,171 ac
Town or city157 ac
National Wildlife Refuge · 1,171 acLocal Park · 79 acConservation Easement · 78 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge National Wildlife Refuge | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 1,171 | Restricted |
| Hidalgo Municipal Park Local Park | Town or city | 50 | Open |
| Municipal Park Local Park | Town or city | 14 | Open |
| Hidalgo Memorial Park Local Park | Town or city | 10 | Open |
| McAllen Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Roadside Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
Things to do
17 places to go in Hidalgo
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Hidalgo
17 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
2 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
4.6 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
3.9 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
0.7 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
16Tennis
9Baseball
4Basketball
3Football
2Soccer
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →2 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 9 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The walking year in Hidalgo
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 | 12.7 | 13.4 | 13.8 | 13.6 | 13.0 | 12.3 | 11.5 | 10.8 | 10.5 |
| High (°F) | 72 | 77 | 82 | 88 | 92 | 97 | 98 | 99 | 94 | 88 | 80 | 73 |
| Rain (in) | 0.8 | 0.8 | 1.2 | 1.4 | 2.1 | 2.7 | 2.2 | 1.7 | 4.6 | 2.3 | 1.2 | 1.0 |
February is the driest month (0.8 in) and August the warmest (highs of 99 °F). 4.6 inches fall in September, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 99 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Hidalgo →
Next door
Hidalgo and its neighbors
Hidalgo 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hidalgo | 12% | 1.6 | 8 | 85% | A− |
| McAllen | 5% | 0.4 | 6 | 83% | B− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Hidalgo
Where can I hike in Hidalgo?
The longest trail networks: Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge, 10.4 miles; Hidalgo Park Museum, 0.7 miles; Valle Alto Park - Hidalgo Municipal Park, 0.7 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Hidalgo is conserved land?
12% 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 Hidalgo’s trails?
Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge and Hidalgo Park Museum don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Hidalgo?
4.6 miles of bike routes are on the map: 3.9 of painted or protected lanes and 0.7 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Hidalgo?
2,641 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Hidalgo or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 116 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Hidalgo have?
Ahead of 81% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #58 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 Hidalgo 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 →