Photo: Ross Griff · CC BY 2.0Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park in De Smet
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park. 17 acres are parks and preserves, 18 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 41% of U.S. towns. What drives it
What kind of outdoors town is De Smet?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
How much outdoors does De Smet have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, De Smet is ahead of 41% of U.S. towns. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; trail miles 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.
Rose Vincent Park
2 conserved acres
under 1% of De Smet’s land. Who manages De Smet’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 2 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
3 places to go in De Smet
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
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.
5 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 1 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
The walking year in De Smet
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 | 15.5 | 15.2 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.5 | 8.9 |
| High (°F) | 24 | 29 | 41 | 56 | 68 | 78 | 83 | 80 | 73 | 58 | 42 | 28 |
| Rain (in) | 0.6 | 0.7 | 1.2 | 2.4 | 3.3 | 4.0 | 3.3 | 3.2 | 2.6 | 2.1 | 0.9 | 0.7 |
January is the driest month (0.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 4.0 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in De Smet →
Questions about parks and trails in De Smet
How much of De Smet is conserved land?
under 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 De Smet’s trails?
Washington Park and Rose Vincent Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near De Smet?
741 acres of parks and open public land lie inside De Smet or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 18 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does De Smet have?
Ahead of 41% 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 De Smet 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 →