Photo: JERRYE AND ROY KLOTZ MD · CC BY-SA 3.0Few parks or trails are on the map in Clear Lake
7% of Clear Lake’s land is conserved, about 162 acres.
Ahead of 11% of U.S. towns. What drives it
How much outdoors does Clear Lake have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Clear Lake is ahead of 11% of U.S. towns. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls 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.
162 conserved acres
7% of Clear Lake’s land. Who manages Clear Lake’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 162 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
1 places to go in Clear Lake
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
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.
1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
The walking year in Clear Lake
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 | 14.8 | 15.6 | 15.2 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.5 | 8.8 |
| High (°F) | 21 | 26 | 38 | 53 | 66 | 76 | 81 | 78 | 71 | 56 | 40 | 26 |
| Rain (in) | 0.6 | 0.7 | 1.4 | 2.6 | 3.4 | 4.1 | 3.5 | 3.3 | 2.8 | 2.3 | 1.1 | 0.8 |
January is the driest month (0.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 81 °F). 4.1 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Clear Lake →
Questions about parks and trails in Clear Lake
How much of Clear Lake is conserved land?
7% 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.
Is there public land near Clear Lake?
1,588 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Clear Lake or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), almost none of it inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Clear Lake have?
Ahead of 11% 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 Clear Lake 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 →