1
Cosmo Park
Park
508 acres14.7 mi of trail
Rhett's Run TrailCosmo Park TrailOld Quarry Road Trail
Dog rules not recorded
DirectionsTo the parking lot
Outdoors · Columbia
Columbia, MO parks, trails & bike paths
About 3.9% of Columbia is conserved land, roughly 1,709 acres. There are about 92 miles of mapped trails, and the biggest networks are in Cosmo Park (14.7 mi), Gans Creek Recreation Area (7.3 mi), and Grindstone Nature Area (5 mi).
Conserved land, trails, parks and bike routes in Columbia, measured from OpenStreetMap and USGS data.
At a glance
Columbia outdoors
Conserved land
3.9%
1,709 of 43,363 acres
Trails
92 mi
1.4 mi per sq mi · 28 on conserved land
Parks & preserves
75
13 conserved acres per 1,000 residents
Bike routes
148.1 mi
79.7 mi lanes · 58.7 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
Gans Creek Recreation Area
Park
316 acres7.3 mi of trail
Discovery Ridge TrailGans Creek Cross Country Course
Dog rules not recorded
3
Grindstone Nature Area
Park
240 acres5 mi of trail
Ridgeline TrailLost Hill TrailSpring House TrailConnector Trail
Dog rules not recorded
DirectionsTo the trailhead
4
Forum Nature Area
Park
107 acres2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
DirectionsTo the parking lot
5
Bonnie View Nature Sanctuary
Managed by Columbia Parks and Recreation
187 acres1.8 mi of trail
Nature TrailPrairie Education Trail
Dog rules not recorded
DirectionsTo the parking lot
6
A. Perry Philips Park
Park
133 acres1.7 mi of trail
Phillips Lake Trail
Dog rules not recorded
DirectionsTo the trailhead
7
Hinkson Woods Conservation Area
Managed by Missouri Department of Conservation
73 acres1.3 mi of trail
Hinkson Woods Conservation Area Trail
Dog rules not recorded
DirectionsTo the parking lot
8
Albert-Oakland Park
Managed by City of Columbia
79 acres1.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
DirectionsTo the parking lot
All 75 parks & preserves
Showing 1–10 of 75 parks & preserves
Cosmo Park508 acres · 14.7 mi of trail
Gans Creek Recreation Area316 acres · 7.3 mi of trail
Grindstone Nature Area240 acres · 5 mi of trail
Forum Nature Area107 acres · 2 mi of trail
Bonnie View Nature Sanctuary187 acres · 1.8 mi of trail · Columbia Parks and Recreation
A. Perry Philips Park133 acres · 1.7 mi of trail
Hinkson Woods Conservation Area73 acres · 1.3 mi of trail · Missouri Department of Conservation
Albert-Oakland Park79 acres · 1.2 mi of trail · City of Columbia
Twin Lakes Recreation Area70 acres · 1.2 mi of trail
Indian Hills Park39 acres · 1.2 mi of trail
Things to do
Beaches, playgrounds, falls & more
Pick a kind of place for the list, directions, or pins on the map above.
4Beaches166Playgrounds11Dog parks3Boat launches8Waterfalls3Scenic views1Peak2Picnic areas2Disc golf2Community gardens
Playgrounds in Columbia
Showing 1–10 of 50 playgrounds
Burger King indoor playground
Eastport Park PlaygroundIn Eastport Park
Harry L. Gentry PlaygroundIn Nifong Park
Rothwell Park PlaygroundIn Rothwell Park
Steinberg PlaygroundIn Cosmo Park
Tiger Bounce
Tot LotIn Cosmo Park
Tot LotIn Worley Street Park
ValleyView Park PlaygroundIn Valley View Park
Unnamed playground
116 more unnamed playgrounds are mapped in Columbia.
Trails
Named trails
Open to bikes 15.0 miUnpaved 18.3 mi
Showing 1–10 of 24 trails
- Rhett's Run Trail5.3 mi
- Discovery Ridge Trail4.1 mi
- Gans Creek Cross Country Course2.1 mi
- Phillips Lake Trail1.5 mi
- Cosmo Park Trail1.2 mi
- Ridgeline Trail1.1 mi
- Nature Trail0.9 mi
- Woodpecker Hollow Trail0.7 mi
- Hinkson Woods Conservation Area Trail0.7 mi
- Lost Hill Trail0.4 mi
Water
Lakes & rivers
Showing 1–10 of 26 places
Antimi LakeBrushwood LakeoxbowCCMO LakelakeCedar LakelakeFairview LakelakeHulen LakeIrrigation LakelakeKaty LakelakeLake CyrenelakeLanny Barton Memorial Koi Pondpond
Tap a name for directions.
Who protects the land
1,709 conserved acres
Who manages it, from PAD-US. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Biking & sports
Bike routes, courts & fields
- Painted or protected bike lanes79.7 mi
- Off-road bike paths58.7 mi
- Shoulders & shared lanes9.7 mi
Courts & fields
- Golf133
- Basketball111
- Tennis89
- Baseball51
- Soccer42
- Pickleball26
- Football16
Counts include school and college facilities, which aren't always open to the public.
Public lands
The biggest protected places in Columbia
From USGS PAD-US: who manages each one and whether visitors are welcome.
Local Park 958 acLocal Conservation Area 739 acState Other or Unknown 6 acLocal Other or Unknown 5 ac
Showing 1–10 of 15 places
| Place | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gans Creek Recreation AreaLocal Conservation Area | Town or city | 299 | Open |
| Mkt Nature And Fitness TrailLocal Conservation Area | Town or city | 188 | Open |
| Strawn ParkLocal Park | Town or city | 128 | Open |
| Forum Nature AreaLocal Park | Town or city | 105 | Open |
| Bonnie View Nature SanctuaryLocal Park | Town or city | 94 | Open |
| Atkins ParkLocal Park | Town or city | 77 | Open |
| Albert-Oakland ParkLocal Park | Town or city | 57 | Open |
| Gates PropertyLocal Conservation Area | Town or city | 56 | Open |
| Garth Nature AreaLocal Park | Town or city | 51 | Open |
| Smith ParkLocal Conservation Area | Town or city | 49 | Open |
History
Historic places to visit
Showing 1–10 of 17 places
Courthouse ColumnsRuins
Engineers' ShamrockPlaque
J.W. "Blind Boone" HomeBuilding · 1890
Kuhlman CourtIn Kuhlman Court · Plaque
Martin Luther King Jr. MemorialIn Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial at Battle Garden · Memorial
Newcomer SchoolIn Shelter Gardens · Building
Rhett Walters RockIn Cosmo Park · Monument
Vietnam Veterans MemorialIn Shelter Gardens · Plaque
WWI MemorialMemorial
War Memorial for EngineersMemorial
Trail talk
Conditions & tips from neighbors
No recent posts about Columbia'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 38.5-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.