Wall Lake Park
Managed by Minnehaha County
23 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
B−Outdoors
Outdoors in Wall Lake Township
11% of Wall Lake Township’s land is conserved: 2,556 acres
39 acres are parks and preserves, 35 per 1,000 residents. 1.5 miles of mapped trail cross Wall Lake Township. 24% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 48% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
11%
2,556 acres · of 35.5 sq mi of land
Trails
1.5 mi
0.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
39 ac
35 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
24%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
3
1 beach · 1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Wall Lake Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Wall Lake Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Wall Lake Township is ahead of 48% of U.S. towns. Conserved land holds the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
B−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Wall Lake Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land11% of the land · typical SD town 3% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (2 mi) · SD 0.5 · U.S. 0.4C−Park land35 acres of park per 1,000 residents (39 acres) · SD 13 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home24% 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 48%
LessMore
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 Wall Lake Park, with 0.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
2,556 conserved acres
11% of Wall Lake Township’s land. Who manages Wall Lake Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service3,223 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits40 ac
State parks15 ac
Conservation Easement · 1,776 acResource Management Area · 1,446 acPrivate Conservation · 40 acState Recreation Area · 15 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1,776 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 15 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minnehaha County Waterfowl Production Area Resource Management Area | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 1,446 | Restricted |
| Makoce Washte Prairie Fee Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 40 | Unknown |
| Wall Lake State Recreation Area | State parks | 15 | Open |
Things to do
15 places to go in Wall Lake Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Wall Lake Township
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Swimming spots in Wall Lake Township
1 swimming spot without a name on the map.
Public pools in Wall Lake Township
Plus 2 public pools without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Playgrounds in Wall Lake Township
1 playground without a name on the map.
Boat launches in Wall Lake Township
1 boat launch without a name on the map.
Scenic views in Wall Lake Township
Vista Observation Deck
DirectionsPlus 2 scenic views without a name on the map.
Picnic areas in Wall Lake Township
3 picnic areas without a name on the map.
Trails & water
3 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
When to get out
September is the best month for walking in Wall Lake 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) | 25 | 31 | 43 | 57 | 69 | 79 | 83 | 81 | 74 | 60 | 43 | 30 |
| Rain (in) | 0.5 | 0.8 | 1.4 | 2.9 | 3.8 | 4.4 | 3.3 | 3.5 | 2.9 | 2.2 | 1.2 | 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 Wall Lake Township →
Next door
Wall Lake Township and its neighbors
Wall Lake 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wall Lake Township | 11% | under 0.1 | 35 | 24% | B− |
| Wellington Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Wayne Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Hartford 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 Wall Lake Township
Where can I hike in Wall Lake Township?
The longest trail networks: Wall Lake Park, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Wall Lake Township is conserved land?
11% 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 Wall Lake Township’s trails?
Wall Lake Park doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Wall Lake Township?
5,281 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Wall Lake Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 39 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Wall Lake Township have?
Ahead of 48% 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 Wall Lake 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 →