Custer City Park
Park
3 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Coemgenus at English Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0B−Outdoors
Outdoors in Hardin
98% of residents live within a half mile of a park in Hardin
0.4 miles of mapped trail cross Hardin, 0.1 per square mile of land. 3% of Hardin’s land is conserved, about 48 acres. 41 acres are parks and preserves, 11 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 54% of U.S. towns · #33 of 42 in Montana. What drives it
Conserved land
3%
48 acres · of 3.0 sq mi of land
Trails
0.4 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
41 ac
11 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
98%
of residents within ½ mile
What kind of outdoors town is Hardin?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Hardin have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Hardin is ahead of 54% of U.S. towns, #33 of 42 in Montana. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
B−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Hardin’s overall grade.
Conserved land3% of the land · typical MT town 10% · U.S. 4%B−Trails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (0 mi) · MT 0.7 · U.S. 0.4CPark land11 acres of park per 1,000 residents (41 acres) · MT 14 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to home98% of residents within a half mile of a park · MT 91% · U.S. 72%A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 54%
LessMore
Montana towns of 2,500+ (42)Ahead of 22%
Montana towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 10%; the U.S., 4%), so Hardin’s 3% is ahead of 10% of Montana towns, while its trails per square mile lead 10% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to B. 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 Custer City Park, with 0.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Fairgrounds
Park
14 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
South West Park
Park
2 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
48 conserved acres
3% of Hardin’s land. Who manages Hardin’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County29 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government18 ac
Town or city10 ac
Local Park · 39 acLocal Other or Unknown · 18 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 6 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Big Horn County Softball Fields Local Park | County | 29 | Open |
| Local Other or Unknown Local Other or Unknown | Other or Unknown Local Government | 18 | Unknown |
| Heimat Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Southwest Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| City Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Wilson Peak Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
Things to do
5 places to go in Hardin
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Hardin
3 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Hardin
1 dog park without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Disc golf in Hardin
Hardin Community Disc Golf Course
DirectionsBiking & sports
0.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Courts & fields
11Tennis
5Baseball
3Football
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →14 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Commercial DistrictDistrict · listed 1985
About itResidential DistrictDistrict · listed 1985
About itCharles S. Eder HouseBuilding · listed 1991
About itFirst Baptist ChurchBuilding · listed 1991
About itFrancis Kopriva HouseBuilding · listed 1991
About itHaverfield HospitalBuilding · listed 1991
About itJ. J. Ping HouseBuilding · listed 1991
About itJames J. Sullivan HouseBuilding · listed 1991
About itJohn Boyum HouseBuilding · listed 1991
About itReno ApartmentsBuilding · listed 1991
About itSt. Joseph Catholic ChurchBuilding · listed 1991
About itSullivan Rooming HouseBuilding · listed 1991
About it2 more on the History page.
When to get out
The best walking months in Hardin: April to June and September
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) | 9.0 | 10.3 | 11.8 | 13.5 | 14.9 | 15.7 | 15.4 | 14.1 | 12.5 | 10.8 | 9.4 | 8.7 |
| High (°F) | 35 | 40 | 51 | 61 | 70 | 80 | 90 | 89 | 77 | 62 | 47 | 37 |
| Rain (in) | 0.6 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 1.5 | 2.4 | 2.1 | 1.1 | 0.9 | 1.2 | 1.3 | 0.5 | 0.5 |
December is the driest month (0.5 in) and July the warmest (highs of 90 °F). 2.4 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 90 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Hardin →
Questions about parks and trails in Hardin
Where can I hike in Hardin?
The longest trail networks: Custer City Park, 0.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Hardin is conserved land?
3% of its land, against a typical 10% for a Montana town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Hardin’s trails?
Custer City Park and Fairgrounds don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Hardin?
6,107 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Hardin or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 41 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Hardin have?
Ahead of 54% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #33 of 42 in Montana. 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 Hardin 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 →