MacLean Park
Managed by Lake Jackson Parks and Recreation
65 acres1.7 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: 25or6to4 · CC BY-SA 3.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Lake Jackson
29% of Lake Jackson’s land is conserved: 3,667 acres
95% of residents live within a half mile of a park. The biggest trail networks: MacLean Park (1.7 mi). 13 miles of mapped trail cross Lake Jackson, 0.7 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 91% of U.S. towns · #27 of 642 in Texas. What drives it
Conserved land
29%
3,667 acres · of 19.8 sq mi of land
Trails
13 mi
0.7 per sq mi of land
Park land
628 ac
22 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
95%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
6
What kind of outdoors town is Lake Jackson?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Lake Jackson have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Lake Jackson is ahead of 91% of U.S. towns, #27 of 642 in Texas. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; conserved land ranks highest, park acres per resident lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Lake Jackson’s overall grade.
Conserved land29% of the land · typical TX town 2% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.7 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (13 mi) · TX 0.2 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land22 acres of park per 1,000 residents (628 acres) · TX 9 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home95% of residents within a half mile of a park · TX 69% · U.S. 72%A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 91%
LessMore
Texas towns of 2,500+ (642)Ahead of 96%
Few Texas towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Lake Jackson’s 29% is ahead of 98% of Texas towns, while its trails per square mile lead 79% of them.
Water is 7% of Lake Jackson’s area (1 of 21 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 27%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would still be 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 MacLean Park, with 1.7 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
San Bernard National Wildlife Refuge
Managed by United States Fish and Wildlife Service
293 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Wilderness Park
Park
20 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 21 parks & preserves
MacLean Park65 acres · 1.7 mi of trail · Lake Jackson Parks and Recreation
DirectionsJunior League Service Park2 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
San Bernard National Wildlife Refuge293 acres · United States Fish and Wildlife Service
Dunbar Park69 acres
DirectionsWilderness Park20 acres
Suggs Park11 acres
Madge Griffith Park11 acres
DirectionsJasmine Park7 acres
Morrison Park6 acres · Lake Jackson Parks and Recreation
Plantation Oaks Park4 acres
Jonquil St. Park.4 acres
DirectionsBrazos Oaks Park4 acres
Captain R. R. Terry Park3 acres
Garland Park3 acres
Yaupon Park3 acres
Cottonwood Park2 acres
Brazoswood Key Club Park2 acres
Timbercreek Park1 acres
Crews Park1 acres
Shadow Glen Park1 acres
Fireman's Park1 acres
Who protects it
3,667 conserved acres
29% of Lake Jackson’s land. Water is left out: Lake Jackson has 19.8 square miles of land and 1.5 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Lake Jackson’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Other state land3,523 ac
Town or city3,196 ac
Joint273 ac
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service188 ac
State fish & wildlife72 ac
County37 ac
Private owners37 ac
Conservation Easement · 1,846 acState Other or Unknown · 1,834 acOther Easement · 1,833 acLocal Park · 1,557 acNational Wildlife Refuge · 188 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 159 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 3 of 67 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Retrieve unit State Other or Unknown | Other state land | 1,668 | Unknown |
| The Wildnerness Local Park | Town or city | 1,033 | Open |
| Dow Centennial Bottomland Park Local Park | Town or city | 216 | Open |
| San Bernard National Wildlife Refuge National Wildlife Refuge | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 188 | Restricted |
| Clemens Unit State Other or Unknown | Other state land | 93 | Unknown |
| MacLean Park Local Park | Town or city | 89 | Open |
| Dunbar Park Local Park | Town or city | 81 | Open |
| Sea Center Texas State Other or Unknown | State fish & wildlife | 72 | Restricted |
| Lake Jackson Sanctuary Private Conservation | County | 37 | Open |
| Oyster Creek Drive Hike & Bike Trail Local Park | Town or city | 33 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
10 places to go in Lake Jackson
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Lake Jackson
Bess Brannen Playground A
DirectionsBess Brannen Playground B
DirectionsBess Brannen Playground C
DirectionsBess Brannen Playground D
DirectionsPlus 4 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Lake Jackson
BASF Dog Park
DirectionsDisc golf in Lake Jackson
Dunbar DGCHours: sunrise-sunset · In Dunbar Park
DirectionsTrails & water
1 named trail and 6 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 2.8 mi
Dow Nature Trail0.4 mi
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
22Baseball
19Soccer
18Tennis
4Basketball
2Beach volleyball
2Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 3 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Alden B. Dow Office and Lake Jackson City HallBuilding · listed 2010
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Lake Jackson: 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) | 10.5 | 11.1 | 11.9 | 12.8 | 13.6 | 14.0 | 13.8 | 13.2 | 12.3 | 11.4 | 10.7 | 10.3 |
| High (°F) | 64 | 68 | 73 | 78 | 85 | 90 | 92 | 93 | 89 | 82 | 73 | 67 |
| Rain (in) | 3.9 | 2.5 | 3.0 | 3.3 | 4.4 | 5.1 | 4.0 | 5.0 | 6.5 | 4.7 | 3.8 | 3.7 |
February is the driest month (2.5 in) and August the warmest (highs of 93 °F). 6.5 inches fall in September, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 93 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Lake Jackson →
Next door
Lake Jackson and its neighbors
Lake Jackson has the most mapped trails of the 3 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Questions about parks and trails in Lake Jackson
Where can I hike in Lake Jackson?
The longest trail networks: MacLean Park, 1.7 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Lake Jackson is conserved land?
29% 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 Lake Jackson’s trails?
MacLean Park and San Bernard National Wildlife Refuge don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Lake Jackson?
6,313 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Lake Jackson or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,671 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Lake Jackson have?
Ahead of 91% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #27 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 Lake Jackson 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 →