1
Ahrens/Paschall Memorial Park
Managed by Ahrens Park Foundation
80 acres2.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Outdoors · Grinnell
Grinnell, IA parks, trails & bike paths
About 5.7% of Grinnell is conserved land, roughly 207 acres. There are about 5.3 miles of mapped trails, and the biggest networks are in Ahrens/Paschall Memorial Park (2.2 mi) and Arbor Lake Park (0.8 mi).
Conserved land, trails, parks and bike routes in Grinnell, measured from OpenStreetMap and USGS data.
At a glance
Grinnell outdoors
Conserved land
5.7%
207 of 3,639 acres
Trails
5.3 mi
0.9 mi per sq mi · 4 on conserved land
Parks & preserves
11
22 conserved acres per 1,000 residents
Bike routes
1.4 mi
0.0 mi lanes · 1.4 mi off-road paths
Conserved land is a share of the whole town area. Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Map
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number or a place below to zoom in© OpenStreetMap contributors · USGS PAD-US
Places to walk
Parks & preserves with trails
Ranked by mapped trail miles. Directions go to the nearest marked trailhead or public parking.
2
Arbor Lake Park
Managed by City of Grinnell, Iowa
79 acres0.8 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
DirectionsTo the parking lot
3
Central Park
Managed by City of Grinnell, Iowa
3 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
DirectionsTo the parking lot
4
Miller Park
Managed by City of Grinnell, Iowa
25 acres
Dog rules not recorded
DirectionsTo the parking lot
All 11 parks & preserves
Showing 1–10 of 11 parks & preserves
Ahrens/Paschall Memorial Park80 acres · 2.2 mi of trail · Ahrens Park Foundation
Arbor Lake Park79 acres · 0.8 mi of trail · City of Grinnell, Iowa
Central Park3 acres · 0.3 mi of trail · City of Grinnell, Iowa
Van Horn Park8 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · City of Grinnell, Iowa
Summer Street Park6 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · City of Grinnell
Bailey Park5 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · City of Grinnell, Iowa
Lion's Park3 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · City of Grinnell, Iowa
Miller Park25 acres · City of Grinnell, Iowa
Merrill Park8 acres · City of Grinnell
Poweshiek County 4-H and FFA fairgrounds2 acres
Things to do
Beaches, playgrounds, falls & more
Pick a kind of place for the list, directions, or pins on the map above.
Playgrounds in Grinnell
Showing 1–10 of 23 playgrounds
Unnamed playground
Unnamed playground in Lion's Park
Unnamed playground in Bailey Park
Unnamed playground
Unnamed playground
Unnamed playground in Central Park
Unnamed playground
Unnamed playground in Miller Park
Unnamed playground
Unnamed playground
Water
Lakes & rivers
Tap a name for directions.
Who protects the land
207 conserved acres
Who manages it, from PAD-US. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Biking & sports
Bike routes, courts & fields
- Painted or protected bike lanes0.0 mi
- Off-road bike paths1.4 mi
- Shoulders & shared lanes0.0 mi
Courts & fields
- Tennis25
- Soccer16
- Tracks12
- Basketball8
- Baseball7
- Softball6
- Pickleball4
Counts include school and college facilities, which aren't always open to the public.
Public lands
The biggest protected places in Grinnell
From USGS PAD-US: who manages each one and whether visitors are welcome.
Local Park 203 acLocal Recreation Area 4 ac
Showing 1–10 of 11 places
| Place | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arbor Lake ParkLocal Park | Town or city | 79 | Open |
| Grinnell Athletic & Recreation CenterLocal Park | Town or city | 62 | Open |
| Miller ParkLocal Park | Town or city | 26 | Open |
| Merrill ParkLocal Park | Town or city | 8 | Open |
| Van Horne ParkLocal Park | Town or city | 8 | Open |
| Lions ParkLocal Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| Bailey ParkLocal Park | Town or city | 5 | Open |
| Jaycee ParkLocal Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Grinnell Mutual Family Aquatic CenterLocal Recreation Area | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Central ParkLocal Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
History
Historic places to visit
Grinnell Historic Commercial DistrictDistrict
North Grinnell Historic DistrictDistrict
Hazelwood CemeteryCemetery
Trail talk
Conditions & tips from neighbors
No recent posts about Grinnell's trails yet. Muddy, icy, a bridge out, where to park: a quick post helps the next person.
Sources: trails, parks, preserves, courts and bike lanes © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), map data as of 2026-09-28. Conserved land: USGS Gap Analysis Project, Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US). Measured against the Census town boundary.
How we measure
"Trails" are OpenStreetMap paths, bridleways, public tracks and unpaved footways, plus footways inside a park or preserve or on a named trail route. Sidewalks are left out. Areas are counted on a 20-meter grid, so overlapping parcels count once. "Conserved" includes conservation easements, which protect land from development but are usually private property. Trailheads are the nearest marked trailhead, public parking lot or information board within about 150 meters of a preserve. Dog rules come from OpenStreetMap when someone has tagged them; otherwise we show what's typical for the land manager, or say the rules aren't recorded.