5% of Lakeside’s land is conserved: 463 acres
28% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 6.2 miles of mapped trail cross Lakeside, 0.4 per square mile of land. 31 acres are parks and preserves, 13 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 49% of U.S. towns. What drives it
How much outdoors does Lakeside have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Lakeside is ahead of 49% of U.S. towns. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
Montana towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 10%; the U.S., 4%), so Lakeside’s 5% is ahead of 29% of Montana towns, while its trails per square mile lead 31% of them.
Water is 22% of Lakeside’s area (4 of 18 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 4%.
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
The longest trail network is Volunteer Park, with 0.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
463 conserved acres
5% of Lakeside’s land. Water is left out: Lakeside has 14.1 square miles of land and 3.9 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Lakeside’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 122 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 2 of 6 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flathead National Forest National Forest | U.S. Forest Service | 319 | Open |
| Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks State Park | State fish & wildlife | 22 | Open |
9 places to go in Lakeside
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
3 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
1 boat launch without a name on the map.
3 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
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.
The best walking months in Lakeside: May to 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) | 8.8 | 10.1 | 11.7 | 13.6 | 15.2 | 16.0 | 15.7 | 14.3 | 12.5 | 10.7 | 9.2 | 8.4 |
| High (°F) | 32 | 36 | 46 | 55 | 66 | 72 | 82 | 82 | 71 | 55 | 40 | 32 |
| Rain (in) | 1.0 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 1.1 | 1.7 | 2.5 | 1.0 | 0.9 | 1.1 | 1.3 | 1.1 | 1.1 |
March is the driest month (0.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 2.5 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Lakeside →
Questions about parks and trails in Lakeside
Where can I hike in Lakeside?
The longest trail networks: Volunteer Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Lakeside is conserved land?
5% 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 Lakeside’s trails?
Volunteer Park and Ben Williams Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Lakeside?
63,747 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Lakeside or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 351 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Lakeside have?
Ahead of 49% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade. 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 Lakeside 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 →