Bear River Greenway
Managed by City of Evanston
63 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: BigCheddah · CC BY-SA 4.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Evanston
14% of Evanston’s land is conserved, and 96% of residents live within a half mile of a park
12 miles of mapped trail cross Evanston, 1.2 per square mile of land. 14% of Evanston’s land is conserved, about 934 acres. 422 acres are parks and preserves, 36 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 94% of U.S. towns · #5 of 28 in Wyoming. What drives it
Conserved land
14%
934 acres · of 10.3 sq mi of land
Trails
12 mi
1.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
422 ac
36 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
96%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
3.2 mi
3.2 mi paths
Highest peak
7,024 ft
Burnt Hill
Lakes & rivers
1
4 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Evanston?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Evanston have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Evanston is ahead of 94% of U.S. towns, #5 of 28 in Wyoming. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; trail miles rank highest, park acres per resident lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Evanston’s overall grade.
Conserved land14% of the land · typical WY town 9% · U.S. 4%A−Trails1.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (12 mi) · WY 1.2 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land36 acres of park per 1,000 residents (422 acres) · WY 21 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home96% of residents within a half mile of a park · WY 91% · U.S. 72%A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 94%
LessMore
Wyoming towns of 2,500+ (28)Ahead of 85%
Wyoming towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 9%; the U.S., 4%), so Evanston’s 14% is ahead of 63% of Wyoming towns, while its trails per square mile lead 52% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would still be A. 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.
Ottley Park
Park
4 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
934 conserved acres
14% of Evanston’s land. Who manages Evanston’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State land board525 ac
State parks274 ac
Town or city138 ac
State Resource Management Area · 525 acState Park · 274 acLocal Park · 138 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bear River State Park State Park | State parks | 274 | Open |
| State Lands 1111127799 State Resource Management Area | State land board | 154 | Open |
| State Lands 1111129509 State Resource Management Area | State land board | 114 | Open |
| Bear River Greenway Park Local Park | Town or city | 68 | Open |
| State Lands 1111127303 State Resource Management Area | State land board | 50 | Open |
| State Lands 1111127295 State Resource Management Area | State land board | 47 | Open |
| Park Local Park | Town or city | 44 | Open |
| State Lands 1111127316 State Resource Management Area | State land board | 35 | Open |
| State Lands 1111129510 State Resource Management Area | State land board | 32 | Open |
| State Lands 1111127314 State Resource Management Area | State land board | 31 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
34 places to go in Evanston
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Evanston
23 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Evanston
4 boat launches without a name on the map.
Peaks in Evanston
Burnt Hill7,024 ft elevation
DirectionsPicnic areas in Evanston
5 picnic areas without a name on the map.
Community gardens in Evanston
1 community garden without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
5 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 1.8 mi
Cottonwood Trail0.6 mi
Beaver Loop Trail0.4 mi
Willow Loop Trail0.4 mi
Nature Trail0.2 mi
Moose Trail0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
3.2 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
3.2 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
11Baseball
6Basketball
4Tennis
2Football
2Soccer
1Skate park
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →7 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 1 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Uinta County CourthouseBuilding · listed 1977
About itSt. Paul's Episcopal ChurchBuilding · listed 1980
About itDowntown Evanston Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1983
About itA. V. Quinn HouseBuilding · listed 1984
About itUnion Pacific Railroad ComplexDistrict · listed 1985
About itUS Post Office-Evanston MainBuilding · listed 1987
About itWyoming State Insane AsylumDistrict · listed 2003
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Evanston: May to September
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) | 9.5 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.5 | 15.1 | 14.9 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.2 |
| High (°F) | 30 | 33 | 43 | 52 | 62 | 72 | 81 | 79 | 70 | 57 | 42 | 31 |
| Rain (in) | 0.7 | 0.6 | 0.7 | 1.1 | 1.6 | 1.1 | 0.7 | 1.0 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 0.8 | 0.6 |
February is the driest month (0.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 81 °F). 1.6 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Evanston →
Questions about parks and trails in Evanston
How much of Evanston is conserved land?
14% of its land, against a typical 9% for a Wyoming town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Evanston’s trails?
Bear River Greenway and Hamblin Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Evanston?
3.2 miles of bike routes are on the map: 3.2 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Evanston?
65,275 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Evanston or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 947 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Evanston have?
Ahead of 94% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #5 of 28 in Wyoming. 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 Evanston 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 →