Superior National Forest
Managed by United States Forest Service
12,996 acres1.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Photo: Lorie Shaull · CC BY 2.0B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Babbitt
32% of Babbitt’s land is conserved: 21,635 acres
The biggest trail networks: Superior National Forest (1.2 mi). 27 acres are parks and preserves, 19 per 1,000 residents. 25 miles of mapped trail cross Babbitt, 0.2 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 70% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
32%
21,635 acres · of 106.0 sq mi of land
Trails
25 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
27 ac
19 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
60%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
2.7 mi
2.7 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
11
What kind of outdoors town is Babbitt?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Babbitt have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Babbitt is ahead of 70% of U.S. towns. Conserved land holds the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Babbitt’s overall grade.
Conserved land32% of the land · typical MN town 5% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (25 mi) · MN 0.5 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land19 acres of park per 1,000 residents (27 acres) · MN 24 · U.S. 13BParks close to home60% of residents within a half mile of a park · MN 95% · U.S. 72%B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 70%
LessMore
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 Superior National Forest, with 1.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Red Pine Run Park
Park
5 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
21,635 conserved acres
32% of Babbitt’s land. Who manages Babbitt’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
U.S. Forest Service12,990 ac
State natural resources8,991 ac
National Forest · 12,990 acState Resource Management Area · 8,991 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Superior National Forest National Forest | U.S. Forest Service | 12,990 | Open |
| Miscellaneous State Resource Management Area | State natural resources | 8,991 | Open |
Things to do
4 places to go in Babbitt
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Babbitt
3 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Babbitt
1 dog park without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
1 named trail and 11 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 21.7 mi
Stony Spur ATV1.2 mi
Biking & sports
2.7 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
2.7 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
3Baseball
1Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The walking year in Babbitt
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) | 8.8 | 10.2 | 11.8 | 13.6 | 15.1 | 16.0 | 15.6 | 14.3 | 12.5 | 10.7 | 9.2 | 8.4 |
| High (°F) | 16 | 23 | 36 | 50 | 64 | 73 | 78 | 76 | 66 | 51 | 34 | 21 |
| Rain (in) | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.1 | 2.1 | 3.1 | 4.1 | 4.0 | 3.3 | 3.6 | 2.8 | 1.7 | 1.3 |
January is the driest month (1.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 78 °F). 4.1 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Babbitt →
Next door
Babbitt and its neighbors
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Babbitt | 32% | 0.2 | 19 | 60% | B+ |
| Bassett Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Stony River Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Waasa Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Hoyt Lakes | 32% | 0.6 | 3 | 25% | B− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Babbitt
Where can I hike in Babbitt?
The longest trail networks: Superior National Forest, 1.2 miles; Fountain Hill Park, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Babbitt is conserved land?
32% 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 Babbitt’s trails?
Superior National Forest and Fountain Hill Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Babbitt?
2.7 miles of bike routes are on the map: 2.7 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Babbitt?
269,276 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Babbitt or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 21,807 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Babbitt have?
Ahead of 70% 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 Babbitt 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 →