Marion Sansom Park
Park
2 acres0.1 mi of trail
The Dam Drop
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
C+Outdoors
Outdoors in River Oaks
River Oaks has 9 acres of parks, 1.2 for every 1,000 residents
1.2 miles of mapped trail cross River Oaks, 0.6 per square mile of land. 83% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 36% of U.S. towns · #365 of 642 in Texas. What drives it
Conserved land
under 1%
5 acres · of 2.0 sq mi of land
Trails
1.2 mi
0.6 per sq mi of land
Park land
9 ac
1.2 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
83%
of residents within ½ mile
What kind of outdoors town is River Oaks?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does River Oaks have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, River Oaks is ahead of 36% of U.S. towns, #365 of 642 in Texas. Trail miles hold the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
C+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of River Oaks’ overall grade.
Conserved landunder 1% of the land · typical TX town 2% · U.S. 4%C−Trails0.6 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · TX 0.2 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land1.2 acres of park per 1,000 residents (9 acres) · TX 9 · U.S. 13C−Parks 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 36%
LessMore
Texas towns of 2,500+ (642)Ahead of 43%
Few Texas towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so River Oaks’ under 1% is ahead of 21% of Texas towns, while its trails per square mile lead 76% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C− 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 Marion Sansom Park, with 0.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
River Oaks Community Park
Park
2 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
5 conserved acres
under 1% of River Oaks’ land. Who manages River Oaks’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city10 ac
Conservation Easement · 5 acLocal Park · 5 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| McGee Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Wooldridge Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
| Marion Sansom Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
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
2Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
April is the best month for walking in River Oaks
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 | 13.0 | 13.8 | 14.3 | 14.1 | 13.3 | 12.3 | 11.3 | 10.4 | 10.0 |
| High (°F) | 57 | 62 | 69 | 77 | 84 | 92 | 96 | 97 | 89 | 79 | 67 | 59 |
| Rain (in) | 2.1 | 2.4 | 3.3 | 3.1 | 4.4 | 3.5 | 2.0 | 2.4 | 3.1 | 4.1 | 2.5 | 2.5 |
July is the driest month (2.0 in) and August the warmest (highs of 97 °F). 4.4 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 97 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in River Oaks →
Questions about parks and trails in River Oaks
Where can I hike in River Oaks?
The longest trail networks: Marion Sansom Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of River Oaks 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 River Oaks’ trails?
Marion Sansom Park and River Oaks Community Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near River Oaks?
11,700 acres of parks and open public land lie inside River Oaks or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 9 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does River Oaks have?
Ahead of 36% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #365 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 River Oaks 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 →