Heritage Park
Park
16 acres0.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: Jon Roanhaus · CC BY-SA 4.0COutdoors
Outdoors in Smithville
Smithville has 118 acres of parks, 11 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Heritage Park (0.5 mi). 1.2 miles of mapped trail cross Smithville, 0.1 per square mile of land. 1% of Smithville’s land is conserved, about 103 acres.
Ahead of 31% of U.S. towns · #185 of 247 in Missouri. What drives it
Conserved land
1%
103 acres · of 16.5 sq mi of land
Trails
1.2 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
118 ac
11 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
64%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
5.8 mi
2.5 mi lanes · 3.3 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
4
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Smithville have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Smithville is ahead of 31% of U.S. towns, #185 of 247 in Missouri. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
C
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Smithville’s overall grade.
Conserved land1% of the land · typical MO town 2% · U.S. 4%CTrails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · MO 0.3 · U.S. 0.4CPark land11 acres of park per 1,000 residents (118 acres) · MO 11 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to home64% of residents within a half mile of a park · MO 74% · U.S. 72%B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 31%
LessMore
Missouri towns of 2,500+ (247)Ahead of 25%
Few Missouri towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Smithville’s 1% is ahead of 27% of Missouri towns, while its trails per square mile lead 22% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C to C+. 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
The longest trail network is Heritage Park, with 0.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Smithville Lake Recreation Area
Managed by United States Army Corps of Engineers
66 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Smith's Fork Park
Managed by City of Smithville
47 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
All 8 parks & preserves
Heritage Park16 acres · 0.5 mi of trail
DirectionsSmithville Lake Recreation Area66 acres · United States Army Corps of Engineers
DirectionsSmith's Fork Park47 acres · City of Smithville
Helvey Park33 acres
Little Platte Park13 acres · Clay County Parks & Recreation
DirectionsCedar Lake Park7 acres
Emerald Ridge Park1 acres
Courtyard Park1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
103 conserved acres
1% of Smithville’s land. Who manages Smithville’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Army Corps of Engineers78 ac
Other or Unknown Federal Land49 ac
Town or city21 ac
Recreation Management Area · 78 acNational Public Lands · 49 acLocal Park · 21 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smithville Recreation Area Recreation Management Area | Army Corps of Engineers | 78 | Open |
| Smiths Fork Park National Public Lands | Other or Unknown Federal Land | 49 | Open |
| Heritage Park Local Park | Town or city | 16 | Open |
| Helvey Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Emerald Ridge Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
16 places to go in Smithville
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Smithville
Heritage Park PlaygroundIn Heritage Park
DirectionsPlus 15 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
4 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
5.8 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
2.5 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
3.3 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
4Baseball
2Football
1Basketball
1Soccer
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →2 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.
When to get out
April is the best month for walking in Smithville
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) | 9.7 | 10.7 | 11.8 | 13.2 | 14.3 | 14.9 | 14.7 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 9.9 | 9.4 |
| High (°F) | 38 | 44 | 55 | 65 | 75 | 84 | 88 | 87 | 79 | 67 | 53 | 42 |
| Rain (in) | 1.1 | 1.4 | 2.3 | 4.0 | 5.4 | 4.9 | 4.8 | 4.5 | 3.8 | 3.2 | 2.0 | 1.6 |
January is the driest month (1.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 88 °F). 5.4 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 88 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Smithville →
Questions about parks and trails in Smithville
Where can I hike in Smithville?
The longest trail networks: Heritage Park, 0.5 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Smithville is conserved land?
1% 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 Smithville’s trails?
Heritage Park and Smithville Lake Recreation Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Smithville?
5.8 miles of bike routes are on the map: 2.5 of painted or protected lanes and 3.3 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Smithville?
17,655 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Smithville or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 144 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Smithville have?
Ahead of 31% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #185 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 Smithville 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 →