Katy Boardwalk Nature Preserve
Park
69 acres1.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Famartin · CC BY-SA 4.0C+Outdoors
Outdoors in Katy
Katy has 6.5 miles of mapped trails, 0.4 for every square mile of land
The biggest trail networks: Katy Boardwalk Nature Preserve (1.4 mi), Mary Jo Peckham Park for All Children (1 mi), Beckendorff Park (0.5 mi). 1% of Katy’s land is conserved, about 95 acres. 73% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 44% of U.S. towns · #305 of 642 in Texas. What drives it
Conserved land
1%
95 acres · of 15.3 sq mi of land
Trails
6.5 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
220 ac
8.7 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
73%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
1
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Katy have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Katy is ahead of 44% of U.S. towns, #305 of 642 in Texas. Trail miles hold the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
C+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Katy’s overall grade.
Conserved land1% of the land · typical TX town 2% · U.S. 4%CTrails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (7 mi) · TX 0.2 · U.S. 0.4BPark land8.7 acres of park per 1,000 residents (220 acres) · TX 9 · U.S. 13C+Parks close to home73% 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 44%
LessMore
Texas towns of 2,500+ (642)Ahead of 53%
Few Texas towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Katy’s 1% is ahead of 36% of Texas towns, while its trails per square mile lead 66% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to B−. 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 Katy Boardwalk Nature Preserve, with 1.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Mary Jo Peckham Park for All Children
Park
33 acres1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Beckendorff Park
Managed by Harris County Precinct 3
7 acres0.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Katy Heritage Park
Managed by City of Katy & Katy Heritage Society
5 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 7 parks & preserves
Katy Boardwalk Nature Preserve69 acres · 1.4 mi of trail
DirectionsMary Jo Peckham Park for All Children33 acres · 1 mi of trail
DirectionsBeckendorff Park7 acres · 0.5 mi of trail · Harris County Precinct 3
DirectionsKaty Heritage Park5 acres · 0.4 mi of trail · City of Katy & Katy Heritage Society
DirectionsKaty City Park20 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsThomas Park1 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsVFW Park6 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
95 conserved acres
1% of Katy’s land. Who manages Katy’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city98 ac
County76 ac
Conservation Easement · 93 acLocal Park · 81 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 13 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mary Jo Peckham Park For All Children Local Park | County | 32 | Open |
| Katy City Park Local Park | Town or city | 19 | Open |
| Katy Heritage Park Local Park | Town or city | 14 | Open |
| Woodsland Park Local Park | Town or city | 7 | Open |
| Malcolm Beckendorff Family Park Local Park | County | 6 | Open |
| Thomas Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
Things to do
17 places to go in Katy
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in Katy
Buckaroo Bayou
DirectionsHowdy Hollow
DirectionsThe Reserve at Katy Pool
DirectionsTidal Wave Bay
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Katy
The Reserve at Katy Playground
DirectionsPlus 9 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Katy
City of Katy Dog Park
DirectionsFishing spots in Katy
1 fishing spot without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Picnic areas in Katy
Outdoor Seating Area
DirectionsTrails & water
1 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
25Tennis
7Baseball
7Basketball
6Soccer
4Football
3Pickleball
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 4 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
April is the best month for walking in Katy
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 | 13.6 | 14.0 | 13.9 | 13.2 | 12.3 | 11.4 | 10.6 | 10.2 |
| High (°F) | 64 | 67 | 74 | 80 | 87 | 92 | 94 | 95 | 90 | 83 | 72 | 65 |
| Rain (in) | 3.9 | 2.9 | 3.5 | 4.1 | 5.0 | 5.1 | 3.5 | 4.5 | 4.8 | 4.7 | 4.3 | 3.7 |
February is the driest month (2.9 in) and August the warmest (highs of 95 °F). 5.1 inches fall in June, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 95 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Katy →
Next door
Katy and its neighbors
Katy 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Katy | 1% | 0.4 | 9 | 73% | C+ |
| Houston | 11% | 0.7 | 12 | 80% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Katy
Where can I hike in Katy?
The longest trail networks: Katy Boardwalk Nature Preserve, 1.4 miles; Mary Jo Peckham Park for All Children, 1 miles; Beckendorff Park, 0.5 miles; Katy Heritage Park, 0.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Katy is conserved land?
1% 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 Katy’s trails?
Katy Boardwalk Nature Preserve and Mary Jo Peckham Park for All Children don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Katy?
29,003 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Katy or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 221 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Katy have?
Ahead of 44% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #305 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 Katy 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 →