Eula Umphress and Robert Hynds Park
Park
22 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Renelibrary · CC BY-SA 3.0BOutdoors
Outdoors in Van Alstyne
96% of residents live within a half mile of a park in Van Alstyne
2.7 miles of mapped trail cross Van Alstyne, 0.5 per square mile of land. 1% of Van Alstyne’s land is conserved, about 42 acres. 64 acres are parks and preserves, 11 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 58% of U.S. towns · #195 of 642 in Texas. What drives it
Conserved land
1%
42 acres · of 5.6 sq mi of land
Trails
2.7 mi
0.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
64 ac
11 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
96%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.1 mi
1.1 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Van Alstyne?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Van Alstyne have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Van Alstyne is ahead of 58% of U.S. towns, #195 of 642 in Texas. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Van Alstyne’s overall grade.
Conserved land1% of the land · typical TX town 2% · U.S. 4%CTrails0.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (3 mi) · TX 0.2 · U.S. 0.4BPark land11 acres of park per 1,000 residents (64 acres) · TX 9 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to home96% of residents within a half mile of a park · TX 69% · U.S. 72%A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 58%
LessMore
Texas towns of 2,500+ (642)Ahead of 70%
Few Texas towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Van Alstyne’s 1% is ahead of 40% of Texas towns, while its trails per square mile lead 71% 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
42 conserved acres
1% of Van Alstyne’s land. Who manages Van Alstyne’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city83 ac
Conservation Easement · 34 acLocal Park · 34 acLocal Recreation Area · 8 acRecreation or Education Easement · 8 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1 acre is a conservation easement, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forrest W. Moore Park Local Park | Town or city | 24 | Open |
| Wilson McKinney Park Local Park | Town or city | 8 | Open |
| Ball Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 8 | Open |
| Dorothy Fielder Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
Trails & water
1 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
1.1 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.1 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
6Baseball
4Tennis
1Football
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 10 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Umphress-Taylor HouseBuilding · listed 1986
About itWhen to get out
April is the best month for walking in Van Alstyne
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 | 10.9 | 11.9 | 13.0 | 13.9 | 14.4 | 14.2 | 13.4 | 12.3 | 11.3 | 10.4 | 9.9 |
| High (°F) | 54 | 58 | 66 | 74 | 81 | 89 | 94 | 94 | 87 | 77 | 65 | 55 |
| Rain (in) | 2.6 | 2.8 | 3.9 | 3.9 | 5.2 | 3.8 | 2.5 | 2.6 | 3.4 | 4.5 | 3.2 | 3.5 |
July is the driest month (2.5 in) and August the warmest (highs of 94 °F). 5.2 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 94 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Van Alstyne →
Questions about parks and trails in Van Alstyne
How much of Van Alstyne is conserved land?
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 Van Alstyne’s trails?
Eula Umphress and Robert Hynds Park doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Van Alstyne?
1.1 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.1 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Van Alstyne?
893 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Van Alstyne or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 64 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Van Alstyne have?
Ahead of 58% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #195 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 Van Alstyne 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 →