Northland Arboretum
Nature preserve
280 acres8.7 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Baxter
Baxter has 20 miles of mapped trails, 1.1 for every square mile of land
318 acres are parks and preserves, 35 per 1,000 residents. The biggest trail networks: Northland Arboretum (8.7 mi), Oscar Kristofferson Park (0.5 mi). 47% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 72% of U.S. towns · #143 of 274 in Minnesota. What drives it
Conserved land
5%
563 acres · of 18.9 sq mi of land
Trails
20 mi
1.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
318 ac
35 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
47%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
27 mi
27 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
9
1 beach · 2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Baxter?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Baxter have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Baxter is ahead of 72% of U.S. towns, #143 of 274 in Minnesota. Trail miles hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Baxter’s overall grade.
Conserved land5% of the land · typical MN town 5% · U.S. 4%BTrails1.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (20 mi) · MN 0.5 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land35 acres of park per 1,000 residents (318 acres) · MN 24 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home47% of residents within a half mile of a park · MN 95% · U.S. 72%C+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 72%
LessMore
Minnesota towns of 2,500+ (274)Ahead of 48%
Water is 11% of Baxter’s area (2 of 21 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 Northland Arboretum, with 8.7 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Oscar Kristofferson Park
Park
16 acres0.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Whipple Beach Recreational Area
Managed by City of Baxter MN
108 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Crow Wing State Park
Nature preserve
42 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 5 parks & preserves
Northland Arboretum280 acres · 8.7 mi of trail
DirectionsOscar Kristofferson Park16 acres · 0.5 mi of trail
DirectionsWhipple Beach Recreational Area108 acres · City of Baxter MN
Crow Wing State Park42 acres
Berrywood Park4 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
563 conserved acres
5% of Baxter’s land. Water is left out: Baxter has 18.9 square miles of land and 2.3 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Baxter’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits392 ac
County104 ac
Joint64 ac
State natural resources40 ac
State fish & wildlife38 ac
Town or city35 ac
State parks25 ac
Local Recreation Area · 379 acPrivate Conservation · 117 acUnknown Easement · 64 acState Resource Management Area · 40 acState Conservation Area · 38 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 64 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 3 of 13 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northland Arboretum Local Recreation Area | Land trusts & nonprofits | 275 | Open |
| Paul Bunyan Savanna Fee Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 117 | Unknown |
| Whipple Beach Recreation Area Local Recreation Area | County | 104 | Open |
| Miscellaneous State Resource Management Area | State natural resources | 40 | Open |
| Crow Wing State Park State Park | State parks | 25 | Open |
| Whiskey Creek State Aquatic Management Area (Crow Wing) State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 20 | Restricted |
| White Sand Lake State Aquatic Management Area (Crow Wing) State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 19 | Restricted |
| Oscar Kristofferson Park Local Park | Town or city | 17 | Open |
| Southdale Park Local Park | Town or city | 8 | Open |
| Loren Thompson Park Local Park | Town or city | 7 | Open |
1 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
12 places to go in Baxter
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Baxter
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Baxter
7 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Baxter
2 boat launches without a name on the map.
Scenic views in Baxter
Observation deck
DirectionsCampgrounds in Baxter
1 campground without a name on the map.
Trails & water
2 named trails and 9 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 0.7 miUnpaved · 7.7 mi
Potlatch Gravel Pit0.9 mi
Hengels Gravel Pit0.6 mi
Biking & sports
27 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
27 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
13Soccer
12Tennis
11Baseball
2Beach volleyball
2Basketball
1Pickleball
1Softball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The walking year in Baxter
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) | 9.0 | 10.3 | 11.8 | 13.5 | 15.0 | 15.8 | 15.4 | 14.2 | 12.5 | 10.8 | 9.3 | 8.6 |
| High (°F) | 20 | 26 | 38 | 53 | 67 | 76 | 80 | 78 | 69 | 55 | 38 | 24 |
| Rain (in) | 0.7 | 0.7 | 1.3 | 2.3 | 3.5 | 4.3 | 4.4 | 3.6 | 3.0 | 2.7 | 1.3 | 0.9 |
January is the driest month (0.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 80 °F). 4.4 inches fall in July, the wettest month. The climate in Baxter →
Next door
Baxter and its neighbors
Baxter has the most mapped trails of the 5 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter | 5% | 1.1 | 35 | 47% | B+ |
| Crow Wing Township | 18% | 0.4 | 253 | 36% | A− |
| Brainerd | 6% | 0.6 | 26 | 87% | A− |
| Fort Ripley Township | 37% | 0.8 | 1,388 | 17% | A− |
| Sylvan Township | 10% | 0.1 | 83 | 2% | B− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Baxter
Where can I hike in Baxter?
The longest trail networks: Northland Arboretum, 8.7 miles; Oscar Kristofferson Park, 0.5 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Baxter is conserved land?
5% 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 Baxter’s trails?
Northland Arboretum and Oscar Kristofferson Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Baxter?
27 miles of bike routes are on the map: 27 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Baxter?
16,199 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Baxter or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 357 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Baxter have?
Ahead of 72% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #143 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 Baxter 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 →