North Park
Park
34 acres0.8 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Skvader · CC BY-SA 4.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Albany
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park in Albany
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park. The biggest trail networks: North Park (0.8 mi). 1.4 miles of mapped trail cross Albany, 0.6 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 78% of U.S. towns · #118 of 274 in Minnesota. What drives it
Conserved land
3%
45 acres · of 2.2 sq mi of land
Trails
1.4 mi
0.6 per sq mi of land
Park land
52 ac
18 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
3.4 mi
3.4 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Albany?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Albany have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Albany is ahead of 78% of U.S. towns, #118 of 274 in Minnesota. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of residents near a park ranks highest, conserved land lowest.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Albany’s overall grade.
Conserved land3% of the land · typical MN town 5% · U.S. 4%B−Trails0.6 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · MN 0.5 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land18 acres of park per 1,000 residents (52 acres) · MN 24 · U.S. 13BParks close to homeVirtually all residents within a half mile of a park · MN 95% · U.S. 72%A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 78%
LessMore
Minnesota towns of 2,500+ (274)Ahead of 57%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ to A. 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 North Park, with 0.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
45 conserved acres
3% of Albany’s land. Who manages Albany’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city45 ac
Local Park · 45 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Park Local Park | Town or city | 36 | Open |
| Lions Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Highview Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Country Estates Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
Things to do
8 places to go in Albany
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Albany
7 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Community gardens in Albany
1 community garden without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
1 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
3.4 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
3.4 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
11Baseball
6Pickleball
2Basketball
2Beach volleyball
1Tennis
1Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
September is the best month for walking in Albany
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) | 9.1 | 10.3 | 11.8 | 13.5 | 14.9 | 15.7 | 15.4 | 14.1 | 12.5 | 10.8 | 9.4 | 8.7 |
| High (°F) | 20 | 26 | 38 | 54 | 67 | 77 | 81 | 79 | 70 | 56 | 39 | 25 |
| Rain (in) | 0.8 | 0.8 | 1.5 | 2.5 | 3.6 | 4.4 | 4.3 | 3.8 | 2.9 | 2.7 | 1.3 | 0.9 |
January is the driest month (0.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 81 °F). 4.4 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Albany →
Questions about parks and trails in Albany
Where can I hike in Albany?
The longest trail networks: North Park, 0.8 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Albany is conserved land?
3% of its land, against a typical 5% for a Minnesota town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Albany’s trails?
North Park and Highview Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Albany?
3.4 miles of bike routes are on the map: 3.4 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Albany?
495 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Albany or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 52 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Albany have?
Ahead of 78% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #118 of 274 in Minnesota. 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 Albany 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 →