Photo: Jeffrey Beall · CC BY 4.0Box Elder has 5.7 miles of mapped trails, 0.4 for every square mile of land
26 acres are parks and preserves, 2.0 per 1,000 residents. 58% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 28% of U.S. towns · #31 of 35 in South Dakota. What drives it
How much outdoors does Box Elder have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Box Elder is ahead of 28% of U.S. towns, #31 of 35 in South Dakota. Trail miles hold the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
63 conserved acres
1% of Box Elder’s land. Who manages Box Elder’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 42 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 19 of 22 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unknown Ball Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 12 | Open |
| Unknown Park Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| Elk Vale Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
25 places to go in Box Elder
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Plus 21 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
3 dog parks without a name on the map.
1 named trail
1.3 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 Box Elder: August 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) | 9.2 | 10.4 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.7 | 15.5 | 15.2 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 8.9 |
| High (°F) | 37 | 39 | 49 | 57 | 67 | 78 | 86 | 85 | 76 | 61 | 48 | 38 |
| Rain (in) | 0.4 | 0.6 | 1.1 | 2.1 | 3.6 | 3.2 | 2.4 | 1.5 | 1.3 | 1.4 | 0.5 | 0.4 |
January is the driest month (0.4 in) and July the warmest (highs of 86 °F). 3.6 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 86 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Box Elder →
Box Elder and its neighbors
Box Elder has the second 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Box Elder | 1% | 0.4 | 2 | 58% | C |
| Rapid City | 3% | 0.6 | 22 | 69% | B+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Box Elder
How much of Box Elder is conserved land?
1% of its land, against a typical 3% for a South Dakota town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Box Elder’s trails?
Boykin Park doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Box Elder?
1.3 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.3 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Box Elder?
7,052 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Box Elder or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 26 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Box Elder have?
Ahead of 28% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #31 of 35 in South Dakota. 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 Box Elder 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 →