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SDSouth Dakota rankings

Towns with the most conserved land in South Dakota

Ranked by the share of the town's area that is permanently protected: town forests, state and federal land, land-trust preserves and conservation easements (USGS PAD-US). 33 towns with 2,500+ residents.

U.S. Census ACS 2020–2024 5-year

Map of Chamberlain 1 Chamberlain 22.4% Conserved acres 811 Map of Colonial Pine Hills 2 Colonial Pine Hills 21.9% Conserved acres 2,123 3 Big Sioux Union County 18.8% Conserved acres 1,457
#TownConserved landConserved acresTrails
1 Map of Chamberlain Chamberlain2,588 people 22.4% 811 1.3 mi
2 Map of Colonial Pine Hills Colonial Pine Hills2,609 people 21.9% 2,123 6.7 mi
3 Big SiouxUnion County · 4,917 people 18.8% 1,457 22.4 mi
4 Map of Blackhawk Blackhawk2,934 people 17% 512 3.9 mi
5 Spearfish Spearfish12,930 people 9.2% 1,015 25.0 mi
6 Hot Springs Hot Springs3,548 people 7.4% 204 6.0 mi
7 Pierre Pierre13,948 people 7% 580 13.4 mi
8 Brookings23,948 people 5.7% 513 6.2 mi
9 Sturgis Sturgis7,086 people 5.6% 237 2.5 mi
10 Map of Sioux Falls Sioux Falls201,469 people 5.3% 2,884 60.9 mi
11 Map of Aberdeen Aberdeen28,189 people 5.1% 541 12.1 mi
12 Yankton Yankton15,540 people 4.4% 253 8.4 mi
13 Split RockMinnehaha County · 3,143 people 3.8% 689 5.6 mi
14 Rapid City Rapid City77,946 people 3.5% 1,248 33.1 mi
15 Map of Brandon Brandon10,996 people 3.4% 134 0.9 mi
16 Watertown Watertown23,044 people 3.3% 546 9.7 mi
17 Map of Winner Winner2,905 people 3.3% 48 0.1 mi
18 Milbank Milbank3,525 people 3.2% 58 2.0 mi
19 Vermillion Vermillion11,878 people 3% 92 2.7 mi
20 Dell Rapids Dell Rapids3,905 people 2.6% 38 1.6 mi
21 Madison Madison6,094 people 2.4% 72 2.8 mi
22 Map of Mitchell Mitchell15,649 people 2.2% 175 2.7 mi
23 Map of Tea Tea6,786 people 2.2% 54 2.0 mi
24 Belle Fourche Belle Fourche5,804 people 1.8% 104 0.6 mi
25 Map of Huron Huron14,385 people 1.7% 120 10.0 mi
26 Mobridge Mobridge2,932 people 1.6% 20 0.4 mi
27 Canton Canton3,033 people 1.3% 28 1.2 mi
28 Lead Lead3,006 people 0.8% 10 3.7 mi
29 Box Elder Box Elder12,902 people 0.7% 63 5.7 mi
30 Dakota Dunes3,936 people 0.5% 10 7.8 mi
31 Map of Harrisburg Harrisburg8,519 people 0.2% 8 0.6 mi
32 Map of North Sioux City North Sioux City3,045 people 0.2% 4 0.2 mi
33 Map of Summerset Summerset3,022 people 0.1% 1 0.8 mi

How this ranking works

We rank every town by the share of the town's area that is permanently protected: town forests, state and federal land, land-trust preserves and conservation easements (USGS PAD-US). Easements protect land from development but are often private, so not all of it is open to visitors. The town with the highest figure ranks #1.

Only towns with at least 2,500 residents are ranked; Census estimates for smaller places are too uncertain. Population and income: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Trails, streets and parks: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Conserved land: USGS PAD-US. Measured within each town's Census boundary. Town photos: Wikimedia Commons, credited on each town’s page.

Same ranking in other states

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