Big Sioux Recreation Area
Managed by South Dakota Department of Game, Fish, and Parks
427 acres3 mi of trail
Prairie Vista TrailArchery TrailThe World's Steepest Shortcut
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Shafer Round Barn · Photo: AlexiusHoratius · CC BY-SA 3.0BOutdoors
Outdoors in Split Rock Township
Split Rock Township has 546 acres of parks, 174 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Big Sioux Recreation Area (3 mi), Beaver Creek Nature Area (1.4 mi). 37% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 5.6 miles of mapped trail cross Split Rock Township, 0.2 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 56% of U.S. towns · #21 of 35 in South Dakota. What drives it
Conserved land
4%
689 acres · of 28.4 sq mi of land
Trails
5.6 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
546 ac
174 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
37%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.9 mi
1.8 mi paths
Highest peak
1,417 ft
Mount Bigsiouxvius
Lakes & rivers
2
What kind of outdoors town is Split Rock Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Split Rock Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Split Rock Township is ahead of 56% of U.S. towns, #21 of 35 in South Dakota. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Split Rock Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land4% of the land · typical SD town 3% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (6 mi) · SD 0.5 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land174 acres of park per 1,000 residents (546 acres) · SD 13 · U.S. 13AParks close to home37% of residents within a half mile of a park · SD 87% · U.S. 72%C
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 56%
LessMore
South Dakota towns of 2,500+ (35)Ahead of 41%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ 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.
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 Big Sioux Recreation Area, with 3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Beaver Creek Nature Area
Managed by South Dakota Department of Game, Fish, and Parks
150 acres1.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Great Bear Recreation Park
Park
4 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
McHardy Park
Park
1 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
689 conserved acres
4% of Split Rock Township’s land. Who manages Split Rock Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State parks582 ac
Town or city100 ac
County6 ac
State Recreation Area · 432 acState Conservation Area · 150 acLocal Park · 107 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Big Sioux State Recreation Area | State parks | 432 | Open |
| Beaver Creek Nature Area State Conservation Area | State parks | 150 | Restricted |
| Great Bear Park Local Park | Town or city | 94 | Open |
| Unknown Park Local Park | County | 6 | Open |
| Prairie Wind Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Open |
| Arrowhead Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
4 places to go in Split Rock Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Split Rock Township
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Peaks in Split Rock Township
Mount Bigsiouxvius1,417 ft elevation · In Big Sioux Recreation Area
DirectionsPicnic areas in Split Rock Township
1 picnic area without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
3 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 2.2 miHorses · 1.5 miUnpaved · 3.2 mi
Prairie Vista Trail1.5 mi
Archery Trail0.5 mi
The World's Steepest Shortcut0.2 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
1.9 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.8 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
1Beach volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Shafer Round BarnBuilding · listed 1995
About itWhen to get out
The walking year in Split Rock Township
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 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 26 | 31 | 44 | 58 | 70 | 80 | 84 | 81 | 75 | 60 | 44 | 30 |
| Rain (in) | 0.6 | 0.8 | 1.5 | 2.9 | 3.8 | 4.7 | 3.5 | 3.3 | 3.0 | 2.3 | 1.2 | 0.8 |
January is the driest month (0.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 4.7 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Split Rock Township →
Next door
Split Rock Township and its neighbors
Split Rock Township has the second most mapped trails of the 4 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Split Rock Township | 4% | 0.2 | 174 | 37% | B |
| Sioux Falls | 5% | 0.7 | 16 | 84% | B+ |
| Brandon | 3% | 0.1 | 17 | 96% | B |
| Brandon 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 Split Rock Township
Where can I hike in Split Rock Township?
The longest trail networks: Big Sioux Recreation Area, 3 miles; Beaver Creek Nature Area, 1.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Split Rock Township is conserved land?
4% 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 Split Rock Township’s trails?
Big Sioux Recreation Area and Beaver Creek Nature Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Split Rock Township?
1.9 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.8 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Split Rock Township?
6,103 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Split Rock Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 546 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Split Rock Township have?
Ahead of 56% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #21 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 Split Rock Township 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 →