Mansfield Dam Park
Park
70 acres1.7 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto Day ParkingWebsite ↗
Photo: Memer15151 · CC BY-SA 4.0B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Hudson Bend
More than half of Hudson Bend’s land is conserved: 83%
83% of Hudson Bend’s land is conserved, about 2,130 acres. The biggest trail networks: Mansfield Dam Park (1.7 mi). 13% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 66% of U.S. towns · #146 of 642 in Texas. What drives it
Conserved land
83%
2,130 acres · of 4.0 sq mi of land
Trails
1.9 mi
0.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
78 ac
19 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
13%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.9 mi
Lakes & rivers
1
6 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Hudson Bend?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Hudson Bend have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Hudson Bend is ahead of 66% of U.S. towns, #146 of 642 in Texas. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Hudson Bend’s overall grade.
Conserved land83% of the land · typical TX town 2% · U.S. 4%A+Trails0.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (2 mi) · TX 0.2 · U.S. 0.4BPark land19 acres of park per 1,000 residents (78 acres) · TX 9 · U.S. 13BParks close to home13% of residents within a half mile of a park · TX 69% · U.S. 72%C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 66%
LessMore
Texas towns of 2,500+ (642)Ahead of 77%
Few Texas towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Hudson Bend’s 83% is ahead of 100% of Texas towns, while its trails per square mile lead 70% of them.
Water is 40% of Hudson Bend’s area (3 of 7 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 50%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ 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 Mansfield Dam Park, with 1.7 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Mansfield Dam Overlook Recreation Area
Park
6 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto Day ParkingWebsite ↗
Who protects it
2,130 conserved acres
83% of Hudson Bend’s land. Water is left out: Hudson Bend has 4.0 square miles of land and 2.6 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Hudson Bend’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Regional agency2,103 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits2,080 ac
Joint45 ac
County43 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government22 ac
Recreation or Education Easement · 2,081 acPrivate Recreation or Education · 2,080 acConservation Easement · 67 acLocal Recreation Area · 43 acLocal Park · 22 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 3 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Travis Private Recreation or Education | Land trusts & nonprofits | 2,080 | Closed |
| Mansfield Dam Park Local Recreation Area | County | 43 | Open |
| Mansfield Dam Overlook Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 22 | Open |
Things to do
7 places to go in Hudson Bend
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Hudson Bend
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in Hudson Bend
Dirt ramp
DirectionsLow water ramp
DirectionsNorth ramp
DirectionsRamp a the point
DirectionsSouth ramp
DirectionsPlus 1 boat launch without a name on the map.
Trails & water
1 named trail and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Forest Trail0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.9 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.9 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
14Tennis
4Basketball
1Beach volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
April is the best month for walking in Hudson Bend
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) | 62 | 66 | 73 | 80 | 86 | 93 | 96 | 97 | 91 | 82 | 71 | 63 |
| Rain (in) | 2.2 | 2.1 | 2.6 | 2.7 | 4.5 | 3.4 | 2.2 | 2.3 | 3.6 | 3.9 | 2.7 | 2.4 |
February is the driest month (2.1 in) and August the warmest (highs of 97 °F). 4.5 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 97 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Hudson Bend →
Next door
Hudson Bend and its neighbors
Hudson Bend 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hudson Bend | 83% | 0.5 | 19 | 13% | B+ |
| Austin | 19% | 1.6 | 19 | 89% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Hudson Bend
Where can I hike in Hudson Bend?
The longest trail networks: Mansfield Dam Park, 1.7 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Hudson Bend is conserved land?
83% 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 Hudson Bend’s trails?
Mansfield Dam Park and Mansfield Dam Overlook Recreation Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Hudson Bend?
0.9 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.9 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Hudson Bend?
16,831 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Hudson Bend or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 93 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Hudson Bend have?
Ahead of 66% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #146 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 Hudson Bend 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 →