1
Dyess Air Park
Park
46 acres3.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Outdoors · Abilene
Abilene, TX parks, trails & bike paths
About 1.9% of Abilene is conserved land, roughly 1,371 acres. There are about 53 miles of mapped trails, and the biggest networks are in Dyess Air Park (3.3 mi), Red Bud Park (3 mi), and Grover Nelson Park (1.8 mi).
Conserved land, trails, parks and bike routes in Abilene, measured from OpenStreetMap and USGS data.
At a glance
Abilene outdoors
Conserved land
1.9%
1,371 of 71,467 acres
Trails
53 mi
0.5 mi per sq mi · 10 on conserved land
Parks & preserves
37
11 conserved acres per 1,000 residents
Bike routes
12.4 mi
10.1 mi lanes · 2.3 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
Red Bud Park
Park
133 acres3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
DirectionsTo the parking lot
3
Grover Nelson Park
Park
167 acres1.8 mi of trail
Nelson Park Trail
Dog rules not recorded
DirectionsTo the parking lot
4
Oscar Rose Park
Park
49 acres0.8 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
DirectionsTo the parking lot
5
Arthur Sears Park
Park
21 acres0.7 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
DirectionsTo the parking lot
6
Stevenson Park
Park
21 acres0.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
7
Wesley Court Senior Living Park
Park
6 acres0.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
DirectionsTo the parking lot
8
Johnson Park
Park
26 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
All 37 parks & preserves
Showing 1–10 of 37 parks & preserves
Dyess Air Park46 acres · 3.3 mi of trail
Red Bud Park133 acres · 3 mi of trail
Grover Nelson Park167 acres · 1.8 mi of trail
Oscar Rose Park49 acres · 0.8 mi of trail
Arthur Sears Park21 acres · 0.7 mi of trail
Stevenson Park21 acres · 0.5 mi of trail
Wesley Court Senior Living Park6 acres · 0.5 mi of trail
Johnson Park26 acres · 0.4 mi of trail
Hardin Simmons University Park4 acres · 0.4 mi of trail
Lake Kirby Park54 acres · 0.3 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.
Playgrounds in Abilene
Showing 1–10 of 50 playgrounds
Nelson Splash!In Grover Nelson Park
Red Bud SplashIn Red Bud Park
Red Bud SplashIn Red Bud Park
Scarborough Splash PadIn Scarborough Park
Unnamed playground
Unnamed playground
Unnamed playground in Vaughn Camp Park
Unnamed playground in Lake Kirby Park
Unnamed playground
Unnamed playground
6 more unnamed playgrounds are mapped in Abilene.
Trails
Named trails
Unpaved 1.7 mi
- Nelson Park Trail0.2 mi
Water
Lakes & rivers
Showing 1–10 of 18 places
Canyon Rock LakelakeCatclaw LakelakeClear Fork Diversion DamreservoirDiamond LakelakeElmer Griffith LakereservoirFairways Development Reservoir Number 1reservoirFairways Development Reservoir Number 2reservoirFaubus Fountain LakelakeFishing PondpondFort Phantom Hill Lakereservoir
Tap a name for directions.
Who protects the land
1,371 conserved acres
Who manages it, from PAD-US. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Conserved doesn't always mean open to visitors. 28 acres are conservation easements, which are usually private land. The places listed above are parks and preserves people visit.
Biking & sports
Bike routes, courts & fields
- Painted or protected bike lanes10.1 mi
- Off-road bike paths2.3 mi
- Shoulders & shared lanes0.0 mi
Courts & fields
- Tennis142
- Baseball115
- Soccer38
- Basketball30
- Golf20
- Football17
- Beach volleyball6
Counts include school and college facilities, which aren't always open to the public.
Public lands
The biggest protected places in Abilene
From USGS PAD-US: who manages each one and whether visitors are welcome.
Local Recreation Area 1,074 acRecreation or Education Easement 1,007 acConservation Easement 352 acLocal Park 270 ac
Showing 1–10 of 15 places
| Place | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sea Bee ParkLocal Recreation Area | Town or city | 204 | Open |
| Grover Nelson ParkLocal Recreation Area | Town or city | 179 | Open |
| Redbud ParkLocal Recreation Area | Town or city | 132 | Open |
| Lake Kirby ParkLocal Recreation Area | Town or city | 121 | Open |
| Oscar Rose ParkLocal Recreation Area | Town or city | 77 | Open |
| Cal Young ParkLocal Recreation Area | Town or city | 72 | Open |
| Johnson ParkLocal Recreation Area | Town or city | 52 | Open |
| Southeast Lake Fort PhantomLocal Recreation Area | Town or city | 49 | Open |
| Will Hair ParkLocal Recreation Area | Town or city | 47 | Open |
| MLK ParkLocal Park | Town or city | 42 | Open |
History
Historic places to visit
Showing 1–10 of 87 places
12th Armored Division at Camp BarkeleyPlaque · 1992
45th Infantry Division at Camp BarkeleyPlaque · 1998
Abilene Christian UniversityPlaque · 1981
Abilene Municipal CemeteryPlaque · 1998
Abilene Negro High SchoolPlaque · 1996
Abilene Reporter-NewsPlaque · 1981
Abilene State SchoolPlaque · 1981
Abilene Woman's Club BuildingPlaque · 2005
Alumni CircleMemorial
Beech T-34B MentorIn Dyess Air Park · Aircraft
Nearby
Abilene and its neighbors
Towns whose outdoors data has been built so far.
Trail talk
Conditions & tips from neighbors
No recent posts about Abilene'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 53.5-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.