Mark Twain Park
Park
17 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Ken Lund · CC BY-SA 2.0BOutdoors
Outdoors in Dayton
Dayton has 63 miles of mapped trails, 1.8 for every square mile of land
380 acres are parks and preserves, 24 per 1,000 residents. 42% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 2% of Dayton’s land is conserved, about 490 acres.
Ahead of 65% of U.S. towns · #25 of 42 in Nevada. What drives it
Conserved land
2%
490 acres · of 34.9 sq mi of land
Trails
63 mi
1.8 per sq mi of land
Park land
380 ac
24 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
42%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
6,096 ft
Kate Peak
What kind of outdoors town is Dayton?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Dayton have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Dayton is ahead of 65% of U.S. towns, #25 of 42 in Nevada. Trail miles hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Dayton’s overall grade.
Conserved land2% of the land · typical NV town 5% · U.S. 4%C+Trails1.8 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (63 mi) · NV 2.0 · U.S. 0.4APark land24 acres of park per 1,000 residents (380 acres) · NV 6 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home42% of residents within a half mile of a park · NV 74% · U.S. 72%C+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 65%
LessMore
Nevada towns of 2,500+ (42)Ahead of 41%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B− 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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Dayton State Park Historic Mill Site
Managed by Nevada State Parks
15 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Santa Maria Ranch Park
Park
3 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Patriot Park
Park
2 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 8 parks & preserves
Dayton State Park Historic Mill Site15 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Nevada State Parks
Mark Twain Park17 acres
Santa Maria Ranch Park3 acres
Patriot Park2 acres
Dayton Valley Dog Park2 acres
DirectionsComo Park1 acres
DirectionsOur Park1 acres
Dayton Skate Park1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
490 conserved acres
2% of Dayton’s land. Who manages Dayton’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County360 ac
State parks129 ac
Local Park · 360 acState Park · 129 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rolling A Open Space Local Park | County | 282 | Open |
| Dayton State Park State Park | State parks | 129 | Restricted |
| Santa Maria River Park Local Park | County | 32 | Open |
| Mark Twain Park Local Park | County | 29 | Open |
| Little League Fields Local Park | County | 6 | Open |
| Como Park Local Park | County | 5 | Open |
| Santa Maria Park Local Park | County | 4 | Open |
| Patriot Park Local Park | County | 2 | Open |
| Our Park Local Park | County | 1 | Open |
Things to do
4 places to go in Dayton
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Dayton
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Peaks in Dayton
Kate Peak6,096 ft elevation
DirectionsCampgrounds in Dayton
1 campground without a name on the map.
Disc golf in Dayton
Rolling A Disk Golf Course
DirectionsTrails & water
2 named trails
Named trails
Open to bikes · 0.6 miHorses · 0.6 miUnpaved · 22.2 mi
Mound House Branch0.6 mi
Hillview Court0.1 mi
Biking & 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
1Basketball
1Soccer
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Dayton: April to June
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 | 10.0 | 9.4 |
| High (°F) | 47 | 52 | 59 | 65 | 74 | 84 | 93 | 91 | 83 | 70 | 56 | 46 |
| Rain (in) | 1.0 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.5 | 0.6 | 1.0 |
July is the driest month (0.2 in) and the warmest (highs of 93 °F). 1.0 inches fall in January, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 93 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Dayton →
Next door
Dayton and its neighbors
Dayton has the most mapped trails of the 2 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dayton | 2% | 1.8 | 24 | 42% | B |
| Silver City | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Dayton
Where can I hike in Dayton?
The longest trail networks: Dayton State Park Historic Mill Site, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Dayton is conserved land?
2% of its land, against a typical 5% for a Nevada town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Dayton’s trails?
Mark Twain Park and Dayton State Park Historic Mill Site don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Dayton?
211,359 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Dayton or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 5,653 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Dayton have?
Ahead of 65% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #25 of 42 in Nevada. 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 Dayton 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 →