Peter and Minnie Monfore House · Photo: Jake DeGroot · CC BY-SA 3.0Few parks or trails are on the map in Springfield
4 acres are parks and preserves, 1.9 per 1,000 residents. 26% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 2% of Springfield’s land is conserved, about 14 acres.
Ahead of 12% of U.S. towns. What drives it
How much outdoors does Springfield have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Springfield is ahead of 12% of U.S. towns. All four inputs are below most U.S. towns; conserved land comes closest.
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.
14 conserved acres
2% of Springfield’s land. Who manages Springfield’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lewis And Clark Recreation Area Recreation Management Area | Army Corps of Engineers | 14 | Open |
| Springfield Recreation Area State Recreation Area | State parks | 2 | Open |
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.
2 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
September is the best month for walking in Springfield
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) | 9.4 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.6 | 15.3 | 15.0 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 31 | 36 | 49 | 61 | 72 | 82 | 87 | 85 | 78 | 63 | 48 | 35 |
| Rain (in) | 0.5 | 0.8 | 1.4 | 3.0 | 3.9 | 3.8 | 3.0 | 3.1 | 2.8 | 2.3 | 1.0 | 0.7 |
January is the driest month (0.5 in) and July the warmest (highs of 87 °F). 3.9 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 87 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Springfield →
Questions about parks and trails in Springfield
How much of Springfield is conserved land?
2% 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 Springfield?
13,704 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Springfield or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 10 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Springfield have?
Ahead of 12% 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 Springfield 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 →