South Edgewater Park
Park
20 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Albert Lea
Albert Lea has 436 acres of parks, 24 for every 1,000 residents
95% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 6.7 miles of mapped trail cross Albert Lea, 0.5 per square mile of land. 4% of Albert Lea’s land is conserved, about 348 acres.
Ahead of 77% of U.S. towns · #129 of 274 in Minnesota. What drives it
Conserved land
4%
348 acres · of 13.3 sq mi of land
Trails
6.7 mi
0.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
436 ac
24 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
95%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
6.4 mi
2.4 mi lanes · 4.1 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
1 beach · 1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Albert Lea?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Albert Lea have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Albert Lea is ahead of 77% of U.S. towns, #129 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 Albert Lea’s overall grade.
Conserved land4% of the land · typical MN town 5% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (7 mi) · MN 0.5 · U.S. 0.4BPark land24 acres of park per 1,000 residents (436 acres) · MN 24 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home95% of residents within a half mile of a park · MN 95% · U.S. 72%A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 77%
LessMore
Minnesota towns of 2,500+ (274)Ahead of 53%
Water is 12% of Albert Lea’s area (2 of 15 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 4%.
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 South Edgewater Park, with 0.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Brookside Park
Park
15 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Bancroft Bay Park
Park
27 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 26 parks & preserves
South Edgewater Park20 acres · 0.4 mi of trail
Shoff Park21 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsBrookside Park15 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
Central Park3 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsSouthwest Park24 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsEberhart Park6 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Fountain Lake Park2 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsNew Denmark Park1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Bancroft Bay Park27 acres
Wedgewood Park12 acres
DirectionsHayek Park9 acres
DirectionsEdina Memorial Park6 acres
Troy Hammer Park5 acres
Academy Park5 acres
DirectionsMorin Park4 acres
DirectionsFrank Hall Park3 acres
DirectionsShoreland Heights Park3 acres
Bellview Park2 acres
Valley Park2 acres
Pioneer Park2 acres
St Nicholas County Park1 acres
Shorewood Hills Park1 acres
Eastgate Park1 acres
Frank Hall Park Playground1 acres
DirectionsPark Ave Park1 acres
Hawthorne Park1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
348 conserved acres
4% of Albert Lea’s land. Water is left out: Albert Lea has 13.3 square miles of land and 1.9 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Albert Lea’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city340 ac
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service9 ac
County2 ac
Local Park · 309 acLocal Recreation Area · 34 acResource Management Area · 9 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bancroft Bay Local Park | Town or city | 83 | Open |
| Edgewater Park Local Park | Town or city | 58 | Open |
| Snyder Fields Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 34 | Open |
| Blazing Star Trail Local Park | Town or city | 27 | Open |
| Southwest Park Local Park | Town or city | 24 | Open |
| Lakeview Park Local Park | Town or city | 18 | Open |
| Shoff Park Local Park | Town or city | 10 | Open |
| Freeborn County Waterfowl Production Area Resource Management Area | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 9 | Restricted |
| Hayek Park Local Park | Town or city | 8 | Open |
| Eberhardt Park Local Park | Town or city | 8 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
20 places to go in Albert Lea
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Albert Lea
Albert Lea Beach
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Albert Lea
16 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Albert Lea
Brookside Dog ParkIn Brookside Park
DirectionsBoat launches in Albert Lea
1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Disc golf in Albert Lea
Tall Grass Disc Golf CourseHours: sunrise-sunset
DirectionsTrails & water
1 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
6.4 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
2.4 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
4.1 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
16Softball
14Tennis
12Pickleball
10Basketball
5Baseball
4Soccer
3Football
2Beach volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →5 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 1 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad DepotBuilding · listed 1982
About itAlbert Lea City HallBuilding · listed 1984
About itH. A. Paine HouseBuilding · listed 1986
About itDr. Albert C. Wedge HouseBuilding · listed 1986
About itAlbert Lea Commercial Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1987
About itAlbert Lea Commercial Historic District (Boundary Increase and Decrease)District · listed 2003
About itWhen to get out
The walking year in Albert Lea
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 | 8.9 |
| High (°F) | 23 | 28 | 41 | 56 | 69 | 78 | 81 | 79 | 73 | 59 | 42 | 29 |
| Rain (in) | 1.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 3.6 | 4.7 | 5.4 | 4.8 | 4.2 | 3.6 | 2.5 | 1.7 | 1.3 |
January is the driest month (1.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 81 °F). 5.4 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Albert Lea →
Next door
Albert Lea and its neighbors
Albert Lea 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albert Lea | 4% | 0.5 | 24 | 95% | A− |
| Albert Lea Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Bancroft Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Pickerel Lake 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 Albert Lea
Where can I hike in Albert Lea?
The longest trail networks: South Edgewater Park, 0.4 miles; Shoff Park, 0.3 miles; Brookside Park, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Albert Lea is conserved land?
4% 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 Albert Lea’s trails?
South Edgewater Park and Shoff Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Albert Lea?
6.4 miles of bike routes are on the map: 2.4 of painted or protected lanes and 4.1 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Albert Lea?
3,914 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Albert Lea or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 436 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Albert Lea have?
Ahead of 77% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #129 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 Albert Lea 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 →