Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge
Managed by United States Fish and Wildlife Service
1,151 acres3.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Theunderratedtaco · CC BY-SA 4.0B−Outdoors
Outdoors in McAllen
McAllen has 23 miles of mapped trails, 0.4 for every square mile of land
The biggest trail networks: Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge (3.2 mi), Camp Mcallen (1.3 mi), Bill Schupp Park (1 mi). 83% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 838 acres are parks and preserves, 5.8 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 54% of U.S. towns · #225 of 642 in Texas. What drives it
Conserved land
5%
1,830 acres · of 62.4 sq mi of land
Trails
23 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
838 ac
5.8 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
83%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
35 mi
30 mi lanes · 5.2 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
7
What kind of outdoors town is McAllen?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does McAllen have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, McAllen is ahead of 54% of U.S. towns, #225 of 642 in Texas. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
B−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of McAllen’s overall grade.
Conserved land5% of the land · typical TX town 2% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (23 mi) · TX 0.2 · U.S. 0.4BPark land5.8 acres of park per 1,000 residents (838 acres) · TX 9 · U.S. 13CParks close to home83% 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 54%
LessMore
Texas towns of 2,500+ (642)Ahead of 65%
Among the 400 U.S. cities of 100,000 or more, McAllen ranks #344 on Outdoors.
Few Texas towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so McAllen’s 5% is ahead of 75% of Texas towns, while its trails per square mile lead 61% of them.
Park acres per resident are where McAllen trails most U.S. towns: 5.8 per 1,000 against 12.6 typical, since 150,640 people share 838 acres.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B− 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 Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge, with 3.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Camp Mcallen
Park
23 acres1.3 mi of trail
Mesquite TrailLa Vista TrailPrickly TrailChachalaca Trail+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Bill Schupp Park
Park
20 acres1 mi of trail
North County Trailway
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Gonzalez City/School Park
Park
10 acres0.6 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 45 parks & preserves
Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge1,151 acres · 3.2 mi of trail · United States Fish and Wildlife Service
Camp Mcallen23 acres · 1.3 mi of trail
DirectionsBill Schupp Park20 acres · 1 mi of trail
Zinnia Park19 acres · 0.7 mi of trail
DirectionsWestside Park49 acres · 0.6 mi of trail
DirectionsTres Lagos Park21 acres · 0.6 mi of trail
DirectionsGonzalez City/School Park10 acres · 0.6 mi of trail
Memorial Park4 acres · 0.6 mi of trail
DirectionsMcAllen Youth Baseball Complex51 acres · 0.5 mi of trail
DirectionsJaycee Park12 acres · 0.5 mi of trail
DirectionsMcAllen Sports Park54 acres · 0.4 mi of trail
DirectionsJackson Park10 acres · 0.4 mi of trail · City of McAllen Parks & Recreation
DirectionsThe Crossings Park6 acres · 0.4 mi of trail
Garcia Park4 acres · 0.4 mi of trail
Los Encinos Park26 acres · 0.3 mi of trail · McAllen Parks & Recreation
DirectionsAirport Park10 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsLas Palmas Park4 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsPalm View Park14 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · McAllen Parks & Recreation
DirectionsLa Vista Park7 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsIdela Park3 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · McAllen Parks & Recreation
DirectionsGarza Park2 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsBicentennial Hike & Bike Trail32 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Daffodil Park11 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsSouth Park5 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsCharles E. Curtis Park4 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsOval Park4 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
McAuliffe Park29 acres
McAllen Nature Center24 acres
DirectionsMunicipal Park24 acres
DirectionsFiremen's Park19 acres
DirectionsCascade Park10 acres
Daffodil Soccer Fields9 acres · City of McAllen
DirectionsRosalyn Suarez Park6 acres
DirectionsBoys & Girls Club5 acres
DirectionsMcAllen Dog Park5 acres
Hackberry Park4 acres
Robin Park3 acres
DirectionsRetama Village Park3 acres · City of McAllen
Navarro School Park3 acres · City of McAllen
DirectionsLions Park2 acres
DirectionsPalm City Park2 acres
Archer Park1 acres · City of McAllen
DirectionsFrontage Park1 acres · CIty of McAllen
Field's Park1 acres
DirectionsMorris Sensory Park1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
1,830 conserved acres
5% of McAllen’s land. Who manages McAllen’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service2,328 ac
Town or city1,296 ac
Private owners17 ac
National Wildlife Refuge · 2,328 acConservation Easement · 381 acLocal Park · 369 acRecreation or Education Easement · 275 acLocal Recreation Area · 274 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge National Wildlife Refuge | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 2,328 | Restricted |
| Motorcross Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 52 | Open |
| Baseball Base Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 51 | Open |
| Westside Park Local Park | Town or city | 40 | Open |
| Mcallen Disc Golf Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 33 | Open |
| DeLeon Sports Complex Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 32 | Open |
| McAllen Botanical Garden and Nature Center Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 30 | Open |
| Mesquite Trail Park Local Park | Town or city | 30 | Open |
| Springfest Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 29 | Open |
| Mcauliffe Rdf Local Park | Town or city | 28 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
60 places to go in McAllen
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in McAllen
Aloha Inn Pool
DirectionsPlus 1 public pool without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in McAllen
Disney Junior Play Zone
DirectionsKid's WonderlandHours: Mon–Thu 11 am – 8 pm; Fri 11 am – 9 pm; Sat 10 am – 9 pm; Sun 11 am – 7 pm
Directions52 playgrounds are on OpenStreetMap in all; the list shows named ones from the first 30.
Dog parks in McAllen
2 dog parks without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Fishing spots in McAllen
2 fishing spots without a name on the map.
Campgrounds in McAllen
1 campground without a name on the map.
Disc golf in McAllen
McAllen Disc Golf Course
DirectionsTrails & water
7 named trails and 7 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 1.1 miUnpaved · 5.3 mi
North County Trailway0.8 mi
Mesquite Trail0.6 mi
La Vista Trail0.2 mi
Prickly Trail0.2 mi
Chachalaca Trail0.1 mi
Coyote Trail0.1 mi
Escondito Trail0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
35 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
30 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
5.2 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
114Tennis
33Basketball
31Baseball
27Soccer
15Beach volleyball
5Football
4Softball
2Golf
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →5 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 23 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The walking year in McAllen
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 | 13.1 | 12.3 | 11.5 | 10.8 | 10.5 |
| High (°F) | 71 | 76 | 82 | 87 | 92 | 97 | 97 | 99 | 94 | 88 | 79 | 73 |
| Rain (in) | 0.8 | 0.8 | 1.2 | 1.5 | 2.2 | 2.8 | 2.1 | 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 McAllen →
Next door
McAllen and its neighbors
McAllen has the most mapped trails of the 6 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Questions about parks and trails in McAllen
Where can I hike in McAllen?
The longest trail networks: Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge, 3.2 miles; Camp Mcallen, 1.3 miles; Bill Schupp Park, 1 miles; Zinnia Park, 0.7 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of McAllen is conserved land?
5% 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 McAllen’s trails?
Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge and Camp Mcallen don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in McAllen?
35 miles of bike routes are on the map: 30 of painted or protected lanes and 5.2 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near McAllen?
3,690 acres of parks and open public land lie inside McAllen or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 843 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does McAllen have?
Ahead of 54% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #225 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 McAllen 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 →