Laumeier Sculpture Park
Managed by St. Louis County Parks and Recreation Department
103 acres2.9 mi of trail
Whitaker Nature Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Rott School · Photo: LittleT889 · CC BY-SA 4.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Sunset Hills
Sunset Hills has 23 miles of mapped trails, 2.6 for every square mile of land
The biggest trail networks: Laumeier Sculpture Park (2.9 mi), Watson Trail Park (1.1 mi), Emmeneger Nature Park (0.9 mi). 273 acres are parks and preserves, 30 per 1,000 residents. 5% of Sunset Hills’ land is conserved, about 282 acres.
Ahead of 78% of U.S. towns · #25 of 247 in Missouri. What drives it
Conserved land
5%
282 acres · of 9.0 sq mi of land
Trails
23 mi
2.6 per sq mi of land
Park land
273 ac
30 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
50%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
4.2 mi
3.7 mi paths
What kind of outdoors town is Sunset Hills?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Sunset Hills have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Sunset Hills is ahead of 78% of U.S. towns, #25 of 247 in Missouri. Trail miles hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Sunset Hills’ overall grade.
Conserved land5% of the land · typical MO town 2% · U.S. 4%BTrails2.6 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (23 mi) · MO 0.3 · U.S. 0.4A+Park land30 acres of park per 1,000 residents (273 acres) · MO 11 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home50% of residents within a half mile of a park · MO 74% · U.S. 72%C+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 78%
LessMore
Missouri towns of 2,500+ (247)Ahead of 90%
Few Missouri towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Sunset Hills’ 5% is ahead of 83% of Missouri towns, while its trails per square mile lead 100% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A−. 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 Laumeier Sculpture Park, with 2.9 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Watson Trail Park
Park
24 acres1.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Emmeneger Nature Park
Park
38 acres0.9 mi of trail
Bluff Creek Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Powder Valley Conservation Nature Center
Nature preserve
75 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trailhead
All 7 parks & preserves
Laumeier Sculpture Park103 acres · 2.9 mi of trail · St. Louis County Parks and Recreation Department
DirectionsWatson Trail Park24 acres · 1.1 mi of trail
DirectionsEmmeneger Nature Park38 acres · 0.9 mi of trail
DirectionsPowder Valley Conservation Nature Center75 acres
DirectionsMinnie Ha Ha Park50 acres
DirectionsCity of Sunset Hills Athletic Fields40 acres
DirectionsLynstone Park3 acres
Who protects it
282 conserved acres
5% of Sunset Hills’ land. Who manages Sunset Hills’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city115 ac
County93 ac
Not recorded74 ac
Local Park · 208 acResearch or Educational Area · 74 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Laumeier County Park Local Park | County | 93 | Open |
| Powder Valley Conservation Nature Center Research or Educational Area | Not recorded | 74 | Restricted |
| Mini Ha Ha Park Local Park | Town or city | 43 | Open |
| Sunset Hills Athletic Fields Local Park | Town or city | 39 | Open |
| Watson Trail Park Local Park | Town or city | 22 | Open |
| Kitun Dog Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Aquatic Center Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Lynstone Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
Things to do
17 places to go in Sunset Hills
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in Sunset Hills
mi pool
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Sunset Hills
Lynstone PlaygroundIn Lynstone Park
DirectionsPlayground 1In Minnie Ha Ha Park
DirectionsPlayground 3In Minnie Ha Ha Park
DirectionsPlus 7 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Sunset Hills
Minnie Ha Ha Park
DirectionsFishing spots in Sunset Hills
1 fishing spot without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Scenic views in Sunset Hills
1 scenic view without a name on the map.
Picnic areas in Sunset Hills
2 picnic areas without a name on the map.
Disc golf in Sunset Hills
Sunset Lakes Disc Golf Course
DirectionsTrails & water
2 named trails
Named trails
Unpaved · 2.2 mi
Whitaker Nature Trail0.2 mi
Bluff Creek Trail0.2 mi
Biking & sports
4.2 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
3.7 mi
off-road bike paths
0.6 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
20Tennis
4Baseball
2Basketball
1Beach volleyball
1Pickleball
1Soccer
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →3 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
When to get out
The walking year in Sunset Hills
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 | 13.2 | 14.3 | 14.8 | 14.6 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.0 | 9.5 |
| High (°F) | 40 | 46 | 56 | 68 | 76 | 85 | 88 | 87 | 80 | 69 | 55 | 44 |
| Rain (in) | 2.6 | 2.2 | 3.5 | 4.7 | 5.1 | 4.6 | 3.9 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.2 | 3.4 | 2.7 |
February is the driest month (2.2 in) and July the warmest (highs of 88 °F). 5.1 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 88 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Sunset Hills →
Next door
Sunset Hills and its neighbors
Sunset Hills has the most mapped trails of the 4 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Questions about parks and trails in Sunset Hills
Where can I hike in Sunset Hills?
The longest trail networks: Laumeier Sculpture Park, 2.9 miles; Watson Trail Park, 1.1 miles; Emmeneger Nature Park, 0.9 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Sunset Hills is conserved land?
5% 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 Sunset Hills’ trails?
Laumeier Sculpture Park and Watson Trail Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Sunset Hills?
4.2 miles of bike routes are on the map: 3.7 of off-road paths and 0.6 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Sunset Hills?
18,355 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Sunset Hills or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 273 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Sunset Hills have?
Ahead of 78% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #25 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 Sunset Hills 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 →