Port of Wharton Riverfront Park
Park
13 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Djmaschek · CC BY-SA 4.0B−Outdoors
Outdoors in Wharton
Wharton has 105 acres of parks, 12 for every 1,000 residents
87% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 2% of Wharton’s land is conserved, about 104 acres. 1.1 miles of mapped trail cross Wharton, 0.1 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 47% of U.S. towns · #289 of 642 in Texas. What drives it
Conserved land
2%
104 acres · of 8.3 sq mi of land
Trails
1.1 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
105 ac
12 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
87%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
4
What kind of outdoors town is Wharton?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Wharton have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Wharton is ahead of 47% of U.S. towns, #289 of 642 in Texas. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
B−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Wharton’s overall grade.
Conserved land2% of the land · typical TX town 2% · U.S. 4%C+Trails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · TX 0.2 · U.S. 0.4CPark land12 acres of park per 1,000 residents (105 acres) · TX 9 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to home87% 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 47%
LessMore
Texas towns of 2,500+ (642)Ahead of 55%
Few Texas towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Wharton’s 2% is ahead of 53% of Texas towns, while its trails per square mile lead 35% 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 Port of Wharton Riverfront Park, with 0.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Croom Park
Park
18 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Harris Park
Park
6 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
104 conserved acres
2% of Wharton’s land. Who manages Wharton’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city205 ac
Conservation Easement · 103 acLocal Park · 102 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Riverfront Park Local Park | Town or city | 23 | Open |
| Mayfair Park Local Park | Town or city | 19 | Open |
| Croom Park No. 1 Local Park | Town or city | 19 | Open |
| Pleasure Park Local Park | Town or city | 14 | Open |
| Harris Park Local Park | Town or city | 10 | Open |
| Santa Fe Trail Park Local Park | Town or city | 8 | Open |
| Croom Park No. 2 Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Guadalupe Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Jefferson Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| County Court Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
1 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
2 places to go in Wharton
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Wharton
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Scenic views in Wharton
1 scenic view without a name on the map.
Trails & water
4 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
12Tennis
9Baseball
3Basketball
2Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →32 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 18 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Wharton County Courthouse Historic Commercial DistrictDistrict · listed 1991
About itBen and Mary Davis HouseBuilding · listed 1993
About itBolton-Outlar HouseBuilding · listed 1993
About itColorado River BridgeStructure · listed 1993
About itDr. Green Davidson HouseBuilding · listed 1993
About itE. Clyde and Mary Elliott HouseBuilding · listed 1993
About itEdwin Hawes HouseBuilding · listed 1993
About itFirst Methodist Episcopal Church South, OldBuilding · listed 1993
About itGeorge C. and Annie Gifford HouseBuilding · listed 1993
About itGerard A. Harrison HouseBuilding · listed 1993
About itHarrison-Dennis HouseBuilding · listed 1993
About itHouse at 401 North RichmondBuilding · listed 1993
About it20 more on the History page.
When to get out
April is the best month for walking in Wharton
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) | 10.5 | 11.1 | 11.9 | 12.8 | 13.6 | 14.0 | 13.8 | 13.2 | 12.3 | 11.4 | 10.6 | 10.3 |
| High (°F) | 64 | 68 | 74 | 80 | 87 | 92 | 94 | 95 | 90 | 83 | 74 | 66 |
| Rain (in) | 3.6 | 2.6 | 3.1 | 3.7 | 4.4 | 4.9 | 3.8 | 4.1 | 4.7 | 4.4 | 4.1 | 3.4 |
February is the driest month (2.6 in) and August the warmest (highs of 95 °F). 4.9 inches fall in June, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 95 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Wharton →
Questions about parks and trails in Wharton
Where can I hike in Wharton?
The longest trail networks: Port of Wharton Riverfront Park, 0.3 miles; Croom Park, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Wharton is conserved land?
2% 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 Wharton’s trails?
Port of Wharton Riverfront Park and Croom Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Wharton?
2,045 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Wharton or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 105 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Wharton have?
Ahead of 47% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #289 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 Wharton 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 →