Steven Bennett Park
Managed by City of Palestine
11 acres0.6 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: TourismPTX · CC BY-SA 4.0BOutdoors
Outdoors in Palestine
Palestine has 910 acres of parks, 48 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Steven Bennett Park (0.6 mi), Reagan Park (0.5 mi). 7% of Palestine’s land is conserved, about 907 acres. 2.8 miles of mapped trail cross Palestine, 0.1 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 61% of U.S. towns · #179 of 642 in Texas. What drives it
Conserved land
7%
907 acres · of 19.5 sq mi of land
Trails
2.8 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
910 ac
48 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
56%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
9
What kind of outdoors town is Palestine?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Palestine have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Palestine is ahead of 61% of U.S. towns, #179 of 642 in Texas. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Palestine’s overall grade.
Conserved land7% of the land · typical TX town 2% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (3 mi) · TX 0.2 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land48 acres of park per 1,000 residents (910 acres) · TX 9 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home56% 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 61%
LessMore
Texas towns of 2,500+ (642)Ahead of 72%
Few Texas towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Palestine’s 7% is ahead of 85% of Texas towns, while its trails per square mile lead 37% of them.
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 Steven Bennett Park, with 0.6 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
City Lake Park
Managed by City of Palestine
280 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Calhoun Park
Park
5 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 11 parks & preserves
Steven Bennett Park11 acres · 0.6 mi of trail · City of Palestine
DirectionsReagan Park15 acres · 0.5 mi of trail
DirectionsCity Lake Park280 acres · 0.3 mi of trail · City of Palestine
Calhoun Park5 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
Wolf Creek Lake Park243 acres · City of Palestine
Texas State Railroad60 acres
Gillispie Park28 acres
Green Park19 acres
DirectionsWillie Myers Park1 acres · City of Palestine
Larry Street Park1 acres
Old Town/Sawdust Stage1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
907 conserved acres
7% of Palestine’s land. Who manages Palestine’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city1,720 ac
County2 ac
Not recorded135 ac
Local Resource Management Area · 755 acForest Stewardship Easement · 754 acConservation Easement · 174 acLocal Park · 119 acState Park · 54 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 2 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Palestine Community Forest Local Resource Management Area | Town or city | 755 | Open |
| Rusk / Palestine State Park State Park | Not recorded | 54 | Open |
| Athletic Complex Local Park | Not recorded | 27 | Open |
| West Palestine Park Local Park | Town or city | 23 | Open |
| Greens Park Local Park | Town or city | 19 | Open |
| Reagan Park Local Park | Town or city | 16 | Open |
| Stephen Bennett Park Local Park | Town or city | 15 | Open |
| Calhoun Park Local Park | Town or city | 10 | Open |
| Mitchell-Campbell Field Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Willie Myers Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
3 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
7 places to go in Palestine
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Palestine
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Picnic areas in Palestine
5 picnic areas without a name on the map.
Trails & water
9 lakes & rivers
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
10Tennis
3Baseball
3Basketball
2Football
2Soccer
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →17 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 69 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Sacred Heart Catholic Church and SchoolBuilding · listed 1979
About itLink HouseBuilding · listed 1980
About itPalestine High SchoolBuilding · listed 1986
About itAnderson County CourthouseBuilding · listed 1992
About itMount Vernon African Methodist Episcopal ChurchBuilding · listed 1998
About itRedlands HotelBuilding · listed 1998
About itLincoln High SchoolBuilding · listed 1998
About itAnderson County JailBuilding · listed 1998
About itDenby BuildingBuilding · listed 1998
About itFirst Presbyterian ChurchBuilding · listed 1998
About itPost Office-PalestineBuilding · listed 1998
About itRobinson Bank BuildingBuilding · listed 1998
About it5 more on the History page.
When to get out
The best walking months in Palestine: 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) | 59 | 63 | 70 | 77 | 83 | 90 | 94 | 94 | 89 | 79 | 68 | 60 |
| Rain (in) | 3.9 | 3.6 | 4.2 | 4.0 | 4.5 | 4.1 | 2.5 | 3.0 | 3.5 | 4.3 | 3.8 | 4.1 |
July is the driest month (2.5 in) and August the warmest (highs of 94 °F). 4.5 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 94 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Palestine →
Questions about parks and trails in Palestine
Where can I hike in Palestine?
The longest trail networks: Steven Bennett Park, 0.6 miles; Reagan Park, 0.5 miles; City Lake Park, 0.3 miles; Calhoun Park, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Palestine is conserved land?
7% 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 Palestine’s trails?
Steven Bennett Park and Reagan Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Palestine?
1,194 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Palestine or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 913 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Palestine have?
Ahead of 61% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #179 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 Palestine 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 →