Dent County Courthouse · Photo: Kbh3rd · CC BY 4.0Salem has 46 acres of parks, 9.8 for every 1,000 residents
2.6 miles of mapped trail cross Salem, 0.7 per square mile of land. 81% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 2% of Salem’s land is conserved, about 41 acres.
Ahead of 58% of U.S. towns · #85 of 247 in Missouri. What drives it
What kind of outdoors town is Salem?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
How much outdoors does Salem have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Salem is ahead of 58% of U.S. towns, #85 of 247 in Missouri. Trail miles hold the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
Few Missouri towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Salem’s 2% is ahead of 46% of Missouri towns, while its trails per square mile lead 84% of them.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Pick a walk
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Roadside Park
All 5 parks & preserves
41 conserved acres
2% of Salem’s land. Who manages Salem’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| City Park Local Park | Town or city | 18 | Open |
| Athletic Fields Local Park | Town or city | 15 | Open |
| Mark Twain National Forest National Forest | U.S. Forest Service | 6 | Open |
| Shawnee Mac Lakes Conservation Area State Conservation Area | Not recorded | 2 | Restricted |
7 places to go in Salem
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Plus 4 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
1 picnic area without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
1 named trail
0.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 5 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
June is the best month for walking in Salem
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) | 9.8 | 10.7 | 11.8 | 13.1 | 14.2 | 14.7 | 14.5 | 13.6 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.1 | 9.6 |
| High (°F) | 43 | 49 | 58 | 68 | 76 | 83 | 88 | 87 | 79 | 69 | 56 | 46 |
| Rain (in) | 2.6 | 2.7 | 3.9 | 4.8 | 5.5 | 4.2 | 4.2 | 3.9 | 3.8 | 3.4 | 3.9 | 2.8 |
January is the driest month (2.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 88 °F). 5.5 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 88 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Salem →
Questions about parks and trails in Salem
Where can I hike in Salem?
The longest trail networks: Bonebrake, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Salem is conserved land?
2% of its land, against a typical 2% for a Missouri town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Salem’s trails?
Al Brown Ball Fields and Dent County Fairgound don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Salem?
8,386 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Salem or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 52 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Salem have?
Ahead of 58% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #85 of 247 in Missouri. 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 Salem neighbors.
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 →