Rapid City has 33 miles of mapped trails, 0.6 for every square mile of land
The biggest trail networks: Robbinsdale Park (1.8 mi), Sioux Park (1.6 mi), The Outdoor Campus-West (1.1 mi). 1,710 acres are parks and preserves, 22 per 1,000 residents. 69% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 66% of U.S. towns · #14 of 35 in South Dakota. What drives it
Conserved land
3%
1,248 acres · of 56.0 sq mi of land
Trails
33 mi
0.6 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,710 ac
22 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
69%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
70 mi
1.2 mi lanes · 69 mi paths
Highest peak
3,661 ft
Cowboy Hill
Lakes & rivers
5
1 boat launch
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Rapid City have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Rapid City is ahead of 66% of U.S. towns, #14 of 35 in South Dakota. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; trail miles rank highest, conserved land lowest.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Rapid City’s overall grade.
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.
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.2 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
69 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
45Tennis
45Basketball
42Baseball
25Soccer
11Football
9Pickleball
7Beach volleyball
5Softball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
30 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 8 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
The best walking months in Rapid City: 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
66
77
86
85
76
61
48
38
Rain (in)
0.3
0.5
1.0
2.1
4.0
3.2
2.6
1.8
1.4
1.5
0.5
0.4
January is the driest month (0.3 in) and July the warmest (highs of 86 °F). 4.0 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Rapid City →
Next door
Rapid City and its neighbors
Rapid City has the most mapped trails of the 3 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Rapid City
Where can I hike in Rapid City?
The longest trail networks: Robbinsdale Park, 1.8 miles; Sioux Park, 1.6 miles; The Outdoor Campus-West, 1.1 miles; Vickie Powers Memorial Park, 1.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Rapid City 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 Rapid City’s trails?
OpenStreetMap records dogs as welcome at Robbinsdale Park. For the rest, check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Rapid City?
70 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.2 of painted or protected lanes and 69 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Rapid City?
104,803 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Rapid City or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,779 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Rapid City have?
Ahead of 66% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #14 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 Rapid City neighbors.
Photo: WeaponizingArchitecture · CC BY-SA 4.0