Texas Point National Wildlife Refuge
Nature preserve
7,956 acres2.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Carol M. Highsmith · Public domainB+Outdoors
Outdoors in Port Arthur
22% of Port Arthur’s land is conserved: 10,666 acres
The biggest trail networks: Texas Point National Wildlife Refuge (2.2 mi). 74% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 864 acres are parks and preserves, 15 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 71% of U.S. towns · #114 of 642 in Texas. What drives it
Conserved land
22%
10,666 acres · of 75.6 sq mi of land
Trails
18 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
864 ac
15 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
74%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.6 mi
1.6 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
3
7 beaches · 10 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Port Arthur?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Port Arthur have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Port Arthur is ahead of 71% of U.S. towns, #114 of 642 in Texas. Conserved land holds the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Port Arthur’s overall grade.
Conserved land22% of the land · typical TX town 2% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (18 mi) · TX 0.2 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land15 acres of park per 1,000 residents (864 acres) · TX 9 · U.S. 13BParks close to home74% 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 71%
LessMore
Texas towns of 2,500+ (642)Ahead of 82%
Few Texas towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Port Arthur’s 22% is ahead of 95% of Texas towns, while its trails per square mile lead 50% of them.
Water is 38% of Port Arthur’s area (47 of 123 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 14%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B to 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 Texas Point National Wildlife Refuge, with 2.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Lower Neches Wildlife Area Old River Unit
Managed by Texas Parks and Wildlife Department
1,367 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
All 24 parks & preserves
Texas Point National Wildlife Refuge7,956 acres · 2.2 mi of trail
DirectionsRose Hill Park14 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsLower Neches Wildlife Area Old River Unit1,367 acres · Texas Parks and Wildlife Department
Adams Park43 acres
DirectionsLakefront Park31 acres
DirectionsSabine Woods Sanctuary31 acres · Texas Ornithological Society
Walter Umphrey State Park27 acres
DirectionsPioneer Park16 acres
DirectionsBlue Bonnet Park12 acres
Logan Music Park11 acres
County Park10 acres
Golder Triangle Veterans Memorial Park9 acres
DirectionsCecil Reynolds Park8 acres
DirectionsEagles Park6 acres
Washington Park4 acres
Hermann Park4 acres
Lyons Park4 acres
J.D. Murphree Wildlife Management Area3 acres · Texas Parks and Wildlife Department
Roosevelt Park3 acres
Griffing Park2 acres
Civic Park2 acres
Hughen Park2 acres
DirectionsLondon Bridge Park1 acres
Montgomery Park1 acres
Who protects it
10,666 conserved acres
22% of Port Arthur’s land. Water is left out: Port Arthur has 75.6 square miles of land and 47.2 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Port Arthur’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service16,565 ac
Joint1,349 ac
Town or city890 ac
Private owners636 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits289 ac
County132 ac
Other state land106 ac
National Wildlife Refuge · 16,565 acOther Easement · 1,349 acConservation Easement · 812 acLocal Park · 464 acPrivate Conservation · 289 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1,358 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 89 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas Point National Wildlife Refuge National Wildlife Refuge | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 16,565 | Restricted |
| Sabine Woods Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 289 | Open |
| Palms Golf Course Private Park | Private owners | 174 | Open |
| Babe Zaharias Park Local Park | Town or city | 153 | Open |
| Adams Park Local Park | Town or city | 72 | Open |
| Sabine Pass Battleground State Historic Site State Historic or Cultural Area | Other state land | 53 | Open |
| Lakefront Park Local Park | Town or city | 39 | Open |
| Keith Lake Local Recreation Area | County | 35 | Open |
| Logan Music Park Local Park | Town or city | 23 | Open |
| Walter Umphrey State Park Local Park | County | 22 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
29 places to go in Port Arthur
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Port Arthur
7 beaches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Playgrounds in Port Arthur
Rose Hill Park PlaygroundIn Rose Hill Park
DirectionsPlus 6 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Boat launches in Port Arthur
10 boat launches without a name on the map.
Fishing spots in Port Arthur
3 fishing spots without a name on the map.
Campgrounds in Port Arthur
Pleasure Island RV Park
DirectionsWaterview RV Resorts
DirectionsTrails & water
3 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
1.6 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.6 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
17Baseball
15Tennis
2Football
2Basketball
1Softball
1Soccer
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →9 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 55 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Pompeiian VillaBuilding · listed 1973
About itRose HillBuilding · listed 1979
About itGates Memorial LibraryBuilding · listed 1981
About itPort Arthur Federated Women's ClubhouseBuilding · listed 1985
About itUS Post Office and Federal BuildingBuilding · listed 1986
About itEddingston CourtDistrict · listed 2004
About itMarconi Tower at Port Arthur CollegeStructure · listed 2008
About itFirst National Bank of Port ArthurBuilding · listed 2015
About itPort Arthur Downtown Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2021
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Port Arthur: 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) | 10.4 | 11.1 | 11.9 | 12.9 | 13.6 | 14.1 | 13.9 | 13.2 | 12.3 | 11.4 | 10.6 | 10.2 |
| High (°F) | 62 | 66 | 72 | 77 | 84 | 90 | 91 | 92 | 88 | 81 | 71 | 64 |
| Rain (in) | 5.4 | 3.4 | 3.6 | 4.0 | 4.6 | 6.6 | 6.0 | 6.7 | 6.1 | 5.3 | 4.4 | 4.9 |
February is the driest month (3.4 in) and August the warmest (highs of 92 °F). 6.7 inches fall in August, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 92 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Port Arthur →
Next door
Port Arthur and its neighbors
Port Arthur has the most mapped trails of the 4 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Port Arthur | 22% | 0.2 | 15 | 74% | B+ |
| Port Neches | 1% | 0.2 | 7 | 48% | C |
| Groves | 1% | 0.1 | 2 | 76% | C− |
| Nederland | 1% | 0.2 | 2 | 66% | C |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Port Arthur
Where can I hike in Port Arthur?
The longest trail networks: Texas Point National Wildlife Refuge, 2.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Port Arthur is conserved land?
22% 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 Port Arthur’s trails?
Texas Point National Wildlife Refuge and Lower Neches Wildlife Area Old River Unit don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Port Arthur?
1.6 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.6 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Port Arthur?
7,677 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Port Arthur or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 867 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Port Arthur have?
Ahead of 71% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #114 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 Port Arthur 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 →