Artesia Lake State Wildlife Management Area
Managed by Nevada Department of Wildlife
1,280 acres2.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Ken Lund from Reno, Nevada, USA · CC BY-SA 2.0C+Outdoors
Outdoors in Smith Valley
Smith Valley has 166 miles of mapped trails, 1.6 for every square mile of land
12% of Smith Valley’s land is conserved, about 7,900 acres. The biggest trail networks: Artesia Lake State Wildlife Management Area (2.3 mi), Burbank Canyons Wilderness Study Area (1.9 mi).
Ahead of 40% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
12%
7,900 acres · of 102.0 sq mi of land
Trails
166 mi
1.6 per sq mi of land
Near a park
under 1%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
2
What kind of outdoors town is Smith Valley?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Smith Valley have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Smith Valley is ahead of 40% of U.S. towns. Trail miles hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
C+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Smith Valley’s overall grade.
Conserved land12% of the land · typical NV town 5% · U.S. 4%A−Trails1.6 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (166 mi) · NV 2.0 · U.S. 0.4APark land0.0 acres of park per 1,000 residents (0 acres) · NV 6 · U.S. 13DParks close to home0% of residents within a half mile of a park · NV 74% · U.S. 72%D−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 40%
LessMore
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 Artesia Lake State WMA, with 2.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Burbank Canyons Wilderness Study Area
Managed by BLM
1,017 acres1.9 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
7,900 conserved acres
12% of Smith Valley’s land. Who manages Smith Valley’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
U.S. Forest Service7,375 ac
State fish & wildlife526 ac
National Forest · 7,375 acState Conservation Area · 526 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Toiyabe National Forest National Forest | U.S. Forest Service | 7,375 | Open |
| Alkali Lake Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 526 | Restricted |
Trails & water
7 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 81.9 mi
Boulder Hill Trail1.2 mi
National Forest Development Road 0270.7 mi
Long Connector0.6 mi
Wellington Connector0.3 mi
Wellington Spur0.2 mi
Hunters Glen0.1 mi
Owens Place0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
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
2Baseball
2Pickleball
1Tennis
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Smith Valley: 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 | 14.6 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.0 | 9.5 |
| High (°F) | 48 | 52 | 59 | 65 | 74 | 84 | 92 | 91 | 83 | 70 | 57 | 46 |
| Rain (in) | 1.2 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.5 | 0.6 | 0.9 |
September is the driest month (0.2 in) and July the warmest (highs of 92 °F). 1.2 inches fall in January, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 92 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Smith Valley →
Questions about parks and trails in Smith Valley
Where can I hike in Smith Valley?
The longest trail networks: Artesia Lake State Wildlife Management Area, 2.3 miles; Burbank Canyons Wilderness Study Area, 1.9 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Smith Valley is conserved land?
12% 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 Smith Valley’s trails?
Artesia Lake State Wildlife Management Area and Burbank Canyons Wilderness Study Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Smith Valley?
286,783 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Smith Valley or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 14,999 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Smith Valley have?
Ahead of 40% 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 Smith Valley 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 →