Watkins Park
Managed by City of Red Oak
11 acres0.7 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
DOutdoors
Outdoors in Red Oak
Few parks or trails are on the map in Red Oak
The biggest trail networks: Watkins Park (0.7 mi). 39 acres are parks and preserves, 2.3 per 1,000 residents. 36% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 12% of U.S. towns · #572 of 642 in Texas. What drives it
Conserved land
under 1%
36 acres · of 16.2 sq mi of land
Trails
0.7 mi
0.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
39 ac
2.3 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
36%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.4 mi
Lakes & rivers
1
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Red Oak have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Red Oak is ahead of 12% of U.S. towns, #572 of 642 in Texas. All four inputs are below most U.S. towns; the share of residents near a park comes closest.
D
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Red Oak’s overall grade.
Conserved landunder 1% of the land · typical TX town 2% · U.S. 4%C−Trails0.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · TX 0.2 · U.S. 0.4C−Park land2.3 acres of park per 1,000 residents (39 acres) · TX 9 · U.S. 13C−Parks close to home36% of residents within a half mile of a park · TX 69% · U.S. 72%C
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 12%
LessMore
Texas towns of 2,500+ (642)Ahead of 11%
Few Texas towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Red Oak’s under 1% is ahead of 19% of Texas towns, while its trails per square mile lead 19% of them.
NoteFew parks or trails are mapped in Red Oak. OpenStreetMap is mapped by volunteers and coverage varies from town to town, so a town with unmapped parks scores low on them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would still be D. 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 Watkins Park, with 0.7 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Cherry Creek Nature Preserve
Park
16 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
36 conserved acres
under 1% of Red Oak’s land. Who manages Red Oak’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city69 ac
Conservation Easement · 36 acLocal Park · 33 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 3 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cherry Creek Nature Preserve Local Park | Town or city | 18 | Open |
| Old Town Park Local Park | Town or city | 9 | Open |
| Pearson Park Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
Things to do
1 places to go in Red Oak
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Red Oak
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
1 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.4 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.4 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
19Tennis
4Pickleball
4Soccer
3Football
3Baseball
1Softball
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The walking year in Red Oak
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) | 10.2 | 11.0 | 11.9 | 12.9 | 13.8 | 14.3 | 14.1 | 13.3 | 12.3 | 11.3 | 10.4 | 10.0 |
| High (°F) | 57 | 61 | 69 | 76 | 83 | 91 | 95 | 96 | 89 | 79 | 67 | 59 |
| Rain (in) | 2.7 | 2.9 | 3.6 | 3.7 | 4.7 | 4.0 | 2.1 | 2.5 | 3.2 | 4.7 | 2.9 | 3.2 |
July is the driest month (2.1 in) and August the warmest (highs of 96 °F). 4.7 inches fall in October, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 96 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Red Oak →
Next door
Red Oak and its neighbors
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Red Oak | under 1% | under 0.1 | 2 | 36% | D |
| Waxahachie | 1% | 0.1 | 10 | 63% | C |
| Glenn Heights | 1% | under 0.1 | 4 | 94% | C |
| Lancaster | 5% | 0.2 | 13 | 62% | B− |
| Ferris | 2% | 0.2 | 16 | 86% | B− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Red Oak
Where can I hike in Red Oak?
The longest trail networks: Watkins Park, 0.7 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Red Oak is conserved land?
under 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 Red Oak’s trails?
Watkins Park and Cherry Creek Nature Preserve don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Red Oak?
0.4 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.4 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Red Oak?
6,548 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Red Oak or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 39 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Red Oak have?
Ahead of 12% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #572 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 Red Oak 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 →