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Sumter County CourthouseSumter County Courthouse · Photo: The original uploader was Pollinator at English Wikipedia. · CC BY-SA 3.0
B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Sumter

7% of Sumter’s land is conserved: 1,573 acres

The biggest trail networks: Julia Lester Dillon Park (1.8 mi), Palmetto Park (1.3 mi), Swan Lake Iris Gardens (1.2 mi). 20 miles of mapped trail cross Sumter, 0.6 per square mile of land. 682 acres are parks and preserves, 16 per 1,000 residents.

Ahead of 68% of U.S. towns · #13 of 169 in South Carolina. What drives it

Conserved land
7%
1,573 acres · of 33.2 sq mi of land
Trails
20 mi
0.6 per sq mi of land
Park land
682 ac
16 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
62%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
4.9 mi
0.7 mi lanes · 4.2 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
6
Outdoors grade

How much outdoors does Sumter have?

On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Sumter is ahead of 68% of U.S. towns, #13 of 169 in South Carolina. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; conserved land ranks highest, the share of residents near a park lowest.

B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Sumter’s overall grade.
Conserved land7% of the land · typical SC town 1% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.6 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (20 mi) · SC 0.2 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land16 acres of park per 1,000 residents (682 acres) · SC 6 · U.S. 13BParks close to home62% of residents within a half mile of a park · SC 52% · U.S. 72%B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 68%
LessMore
South Carolina towns of 2,500+ (169)Ahead of 93%

Few South Carolina towns conserve much land (a typical one, 1%; the U.S., 4%), so Sumter’s 7% is ahead of 90% of South Carolina towns, while its trails per square mile lead 79% of them.

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.

123456
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 Julia Lester Dillon Park, with 1.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.

Julia Lester Dillon Park

Park
91 acres1.8 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot

Palmetto Park

Park
34 acres1.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot

Swan Lake Iris Gardens

Park
35 acres1.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot

Patriot Park Sports Complex

Park
90 acres0.7 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot

Swan Lake Bland Garden

Park
19 acres0.7 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot

Sumter Veterans' Park

Park
7 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 16 parks & preserves
Julia Lester Dillon Park91 acres · 1.8 mi of trail
Directions
Palmetto Park34 acres · 1.3 mi of trail
Directions
Swan Lake Iris Gardens35 acres · 1.2 mi of trail
Directions
Patriot Park Sports Complex90 acres · 0.7 mi of trail
Directions
Swan Lake Bland Garden19 acres · 0.7 mi of trail
Directions
Sumter Veterans' Park7 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
Directions
Air Park3 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Directions
South Sycamore Park3 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Directions
Elm Park1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Directions
Elder Park1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Directions
Little League Park15 acres
Birnie Center8 acres
Memorial Park6 acres
Sycamore Park1 acres
North Sycamore Park1 acres
Directions
Swan Lake Playground1 acres
Directions
Who protects it

1,573 conserved acres

7% of Sumter’s land. Who manages Sumter’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.

Joint931 ac
County360 ac
Town or city265 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)102 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits13 ac
Unknown Easement · 931 acLocal Park · 429 acLocal Recreation Area · 209 acConservation Easement · 102 ac
Good to know

Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 935 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 39 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.

The biggest protected parcels
Parcel (PAD-US)Managed byAcresPublic access
Swan Lake
Local Park
Town or city154Open
Patriot Park
Local Park
County107Open
Crystal Lakes Golf Course
Local Recreation Area
County97Open
Dillon Park
Local Park
County94Open
Palmetto Park
Local Recreation Area
Town or city39Open
Riley Park
Local Recreation Area
Town or city34Open
Shaw Park
Local Park
County22Open
Shot Pouch Creek Greenway
Local Recreation Area
Town or city21Open
Bobby Richardson Complex
Local Recreation Area
County14Open
Little League Park
Local Park
Land trusts & nonprofits13Open

5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.

Things to do

25 places to go in Sumter

Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.

Playgrounds in Sumter

22 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.

Trails & water

1 named trail and 6 lakes & rivers

Named trails
Open to bikes · 2.2 miUnpaved · 0.5 mi
Cypress Trail0.9 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Booths PondpondLower Deerwood LakeSecond MillpondreservoirShaw Golf Course Pond Number 1pondSwan LakelakeUpper Deerwood Lake
Biking & sports

4.9 miles of bike routes

Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.

0.7 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
4.2 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
33Tennis
32Baseball
13Soccer
4Football
4Pickleball
4Basketball
1Skate park
1Beach volleyball

Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.

History along the way

10 places on the National Register

The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 6 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.

History →
Sumter Town Hall-Opera HouseBuilding · listed 1973
About it
Sumter Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1975
About it
Elizabeth White HouseBuilding · listed 1978
About it
Carnegie Public LibraryBuilding · listed 1994
About it
Henry Lee Scarborough HouseBuilding · listed 1995
About it
O'Donnell HouseBuilding · listed 1996
About it
Charles T. Mason HouseBuilding · listed 1997
About it
Temple SinaiBuilding · listed 1999
About it
Sumter County CourthouseBuilding · listed 2004
About it
Lincoln High SchoolBuilding · listed 2015
About it
When to get out

The best walking months in Sumter: April and May

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.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)10.110.911.913.013.914.414.213.412.311.310.39.9
High (°F)576068768388919085766659
Rain (in)3.73.43.63.23.64.85.35.24.23.52.83.7

November is the driest month (2.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 91 °F). 5.3 inches fall in July, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 91 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Sumter →

Next door

Sumter and its neighbors

Sumter has the most mapped trails of the 3 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.

Sumter20 miLakewood5.5 miMulberry1.1 mi
TownConserved
of land		Trail mi
per sq mi		Park acres
per 1,000		Near a park
½ mile		Outdoors
Sumter7%0.61662%B+
Mulberry— not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town
Lakewood2%0.7under 1under 1%C−

The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.

Questions about parks and trails in Sumter

Where can I hike in Sumter?

The longest trail networks: Julia Lester Dillon Park, 1.8 miles; Palmetto Park, 1.3 miles; Swan Lake Iris Gardens, 1.2 miles; Patriot Park Sports Complex, 0.7 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.

How much of Sumter is conserved land?

7% of its land, against a typical 1% for a South Carolina town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.

Are dogs allowed on Sumter’s trails?

Julia Lester Dillon Park and Palmetto Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.

Where can I bike in Sumter?

4.9 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.7 of painted or protected lanes and 4.2 of off-road paths.

Is there public land near Sumter?

5,604 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Sumter or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 682 of them inside the city line.

How much outdoors does Sumter have?

Ahead of 68% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #13 of 169 in South Carolina. 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 Sumter neighbors.

Town Square →
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 →