Texas State Railroad - Rusk Depot
Managed by Texas State Railroad Authority
117 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Patrick Feller from Humble, Texas, USA · CC BY 2.0BOutdoors
Outdoors in Rusk
Rusk has 155 acres of parks, 28 for every 1,000 residents
8% of Rusk’s land is conserved, about 368 acres. 32% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 1.9 miles of mapped trail cross Rusk, 0.3 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 56% of U.S. towns · #208 of 642 in Texas. What drives it
Conserved land
8%
368 acres · of 7.2 sq mi of land
Trails
1.9 mi
0.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
155 ac
28 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
32%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
3
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Rusk have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Rusk is ahead of 56% of U.S. towns, #208 of 642 in Texas. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Rusk’s overall grade.
Conserved land8% of the land · typical TX town 2% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (2 mi) · TX 0.2 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land28 acres of park per 1,000 residents (155 acres) · TX 9 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home32% 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 56%
LessMore
Texas towns of 2,500+ (642)Ahead of 68%
Few Texas towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Rusk’s 8% is ahead of 87% of Texas towns, while its trails per square mile lead 53% 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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
368 conserved acres
8% of Rusk’s land. Who manages Rusk’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city367 ac
Joint56 ac
Not recorded312 ac
Historic or Cultural Easement · 170 acState Historic or Cultural Area · 170 acConservation Easement · 129 acState Park · 127 acOther Easement · 57 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1 acre is a conservation easement, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 3 of 12 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jim Hogg Historic Site State Historic or Cultural Area | Town or city | 170 | Open |
| Rusk / Palestine State Park State Park | Not recorded | 127 | Open |
| Rusk State Hospital State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 56 | Unknown |
| Lions Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 10 | Open |
| Perkins Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Texas State Railroad State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 1 | Unknown |
Trails & water
3 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
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
5Baseball
4Tennis
3Basketball
1Football
1Softball
1Beach volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 24 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
James I. and Myrta Blake Perkins HouseBuilding · listed 2002
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Rusk: 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) | 58 | 62 | 69 | 76 | 83 | 89 | 93 | 94 | 88 | 78 | 67 | 60 |
| Rain (in) | 4.3 | 4.0 | 4.3 | 4.1 | 4.7 | 4.4 | 3.1 | 3.2 | 3.6 | 4.4 | 4.0 | 4.6 |
July is the driest month (3.1 in) and August the warmest (highs of 94 °F). 4.7 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 94 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Rusk →
Questions about parks and trails in Rusk
How much of Rusk is conserved land?
8% 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 Rusk’s trails?
Texas State Railroad - Rusk Depot doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Rusk?
2,614 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Rusk or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 155 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Rusk have?
Ahead of 56% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #208 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 Rusk 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 →