Historic Dam Site Park
Park
24 acres0.7 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Odd Fellows Home of Dell Rapids · Photo: Amitzel · CC BY-SA 4.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Dell Rapids
99% of residents live within a half mile of a park in Dell Rapids
The biggest trail networks: Historic Dam Site Park (0.7 mi). 1.6 miles of mapped trail cross Dell Rapids, 0.7 per square mile of land. 101 acres are parks and preserves, 26 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 80% of U.S. towns · #6 of 35 in South Dakota. What drives it
Conserved land
3%
38 acres · of 2.3 sq mi of land
Trails
1.6 mi
0.7 per sq mi of land
Park land
101 ac
26 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
4.4 mi
4.4 mi paths
Highest peak
1,588 ft
Orphanage Hill
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Dell Rapids?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Dell Rapids have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Dell Rapids is ahead of 80% of U.S. towns, #6 of 35 in South Dakota. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Dell Rapids’ overall grade.
Conserved land3% of the land · typical SD town 3% · U.S. 4%B−Trails0.7 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (2 mi) · SD 0.5 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land26 acres of park per 1,000 residents (101 acres) · SD 13 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home99% of residents within a half mile of a park · SD 87% · U.S. 72%A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 80%
LessMore
South Dakota towns of 2,500+ (35)Ahead of 85%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ to A. 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 Historic Dam Site Park, with 0.7 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Lions Park
Park
28 acres0.1 mi of trail
Ace Park Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Dell Rapids City Park
Park
18 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 6 parks & preserves
Historic Dam Site Park24 acres · 0.7 mi of trail
DirectionsLions Park28 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsVeterans Memorial Park5 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsDell Rapids City Park18 acres
Dells of the Sioux Recreation Area4 acres
DirectionsBrown Memorial Park4 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
38 conserved acres
3% of Dell Rapids’ land. Who manages Dell Rapids’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city38 ac
Local Park · 27 acLocal Recreation Area · 12 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dell Rapids City Park Local Park | Town or city | 18 | Open |
| Dell Rapids Ball Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 12 | Open |
| Unknown Green Space Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| Unknown Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
Things to do
6 places to go in Dell Rapids
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Dell Rapids
4 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Dell Rapids
River's Edge Dog Park
DirectionsPeaks in Dell Rapids
Orphanage Hill1,588 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
1 named trail and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 0.5 miUnpaved · 0.7 mi
Ace Park Trail0.2 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
4.4 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
4.4 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
9Baseball
8Basketball
1Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →13 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 3 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Carnegie Free Public LibraryBuilding · listed 1973
About itDell Rapids Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1978
About itDell Rapids Water TowerStructure · listed 1984
About itCampbell, Gina Smith, BathhouseBuilding · listed 1986
About itCarnegie Public LibraryBuilding · listed 1986
About itWilliam G. Milne HouseBuilding · listed 1994
About itDell Rapids BridgeStructure · listed 1999
About itDell Rapids BridgeStructure · listed 2000
About itDell Rapids Residential Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2000
About itDell Rapids AmphitheaterStructure · listed 2002
About itSt. Peter's Lutheran ChurchBuilding · listed 2002
About itOdd Fellows Home of Dell RapidsBuilding · listed 2012
About it1 more on the History page.
When to get out
The walking year in Dell Rapids
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) | 9.3 | 10.4 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.7 | 15.4 | 15.1 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 8.9 |
| High (°F) | 25 | 30 | 42 | 57 | 69 | 79 | 83 | 81 | 74 | 59 | 43 | 29 |
| Rain (in) | 0.5 | 0.8 | 1.4 | 2.8 | 3.6 | 4.4 | 3.4 | 3.4 | 3.0 | 2.2 | 1.1 | 0.8 |
January is the driest month (0.5 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 4.4 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Dell Rapids →
Next door
Dell Rapids and its neighbors
Dell Rapids 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dell Rapids | 3% | 0.7 | 26 | 99% | A− |
| Dell Rapids Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Dell Rapids
Where can I hike in Dell Rapids?
The longest trail networks: Historic Dam Site Park, 0.7 miles; Lions Park, 0.1 miles; Veterans Memorial Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Dell Rapids is conserved land?
3% 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 Dell Rapids’ trails?
Historic Dam Site Park and Lions Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Dell Rapids?
4.4 miles of bike routes are on the map: 4.4 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Dell Rapids?
176 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Dell Rapids or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 101 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Dell Rapids have?
Ahead of 80% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #6 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 Dell Rapids 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 →