Photo: Txstateends · CC BY-SA 4.0Jacksonville has 274 acres of parks, 19 for every 1,000 residents
3.4 miles of mapped trail cross Jacksonville, 0.2 per square mile of land. 65% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 3% of Jacksonville’s land is conserved, about 274 acres.
Ahead of 52% of U.S. towns · #249 of 642 in Texas. What drives it
How much outdoors does Jacksonville have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Jacksonville is ahead of 52% of U.S. towns, #249 of 642 in Texas. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
Few Texas towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Jacksonville’s 3% is ahead of 64% of Texas towns, while its trails per square mile lead 47% of them.
Water is 12% of Jacksonville’s area (2 of 17 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 2%.
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.
Pick a walk
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
All 5 parks & preserves
274 conserved acres
3% of Jacksonville’s land. Water is left out: Jacksonville has 15.1 square miles of land and 2.0 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Jacksonville’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1 acre is a conservation easement, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nichols Green Phase II & III Local Park | Town or city | 111 | Open |
| Nichols Green Phase I Local Park | Town or city | 65 | Open |
| Baseball and Soccer Complex Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 52 | Open |
| Buckner Park Local Park | Town or city | 14 | Open |
| Lincoln Park Local Park | Town or city | 8 | Open |
| Lake Jacksonville Concession Local Park | Town or city | 8 | Open |
| South Ridge Park Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| Lake Jville Campgrounds Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Open |
| Rose Garden Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Hazel Tilton Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
2 places to go in Jacksonville
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
1 boat launch without a name on the map.
2 lakes & rivers
0.0 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.
3 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 18 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
The best walking months in Jacksonville: April and May
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) | 10.3 | 11.0 | 11.9 | 12.9 | 13.8 | 14.2 | 14.0 | 13.3 | 12.3 | 11.3 | 10.5 | 10.1 |
| High (°F) | 58 | 62 | 69 | 77 | 83 | 90 | 93 | 94 | 88 | 78 | 67 | 60 |
| Rain (in) | 4.1 | 4.1 | 4.4 | 4.1 | 4.5 | 4.1 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.5 | 4.2 | 3.7 | 4.6 |
July is the driest month (3.0 in) and August the warmest (highs of 94 °F). 4.6 inches fall in December, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 94 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Jacksonville →
Questions about parks and trails in Jacksonville
How much of Jacksonville is conserved land?
3% 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 Jacksonville’s trails?
Nichols' Green Park and Baseball and Soccer Complex don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Jacksonville?
2,862 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Jacksonville or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 286 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Jacksonville have?
Ahead of 52% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #249 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 Jacksonville 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 →