Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge
Managed by United States Fish and Wildlife Service
14,299 acres15.7 mi of trail
Mahnomen TrailBlue Hill TrailWoodland Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trailhead
C+Outdoors
Outdoors in Blue Hill Township
More than half of Blue Hill Township’s land is conserved: 64%
64% of Blue Hill Township’s land is conserved, about 14,479 acres. The biggest trail networks: Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge (15.7 mi). 4% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 43% of U.S. towns · #229 of 274 in Minnesota. What drives it
Conserved land
64%
14,479 acres · of 35.2 sq mi of land
Trails
16 mi
0.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
3 ac
1.2 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
4%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
7
1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Blue Hill Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Blue Hill Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Blue Hill Township is ahead of 43% of U.S. towns, #229 of 274 in Minnesota. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
C+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Blue Hill Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land64% of the land · typical MN town 5% · U.S. 4%A+Trails0.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (16 mi) · MN 0.5 · U.S. 0.4BPark land1.2 acres of park per 1,000 residents (3 acres) · MN 24 · U.S. 13C−Parks close to home4% of residents within a half mile of a park · MN 95% · U.S. 72%D
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 43%
LessMore
Minnesota towns of 2,500+ (274)Ahead of 16%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B. 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 Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge, with 15.7 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Kunkel Wildlife Management Area
Managed by Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
175 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge Wayside
Park
3 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trail sign
Who protects it
14,479 conserved acres
64% of Blue Hill Township’s land. Who manages Blue Hill Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service28,605 ac
State fish & wildlife176 ac
National Wildlife Refuge · 28,605 acState Conservation Area · 176 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge National Wildlife Refuge | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 28,605 | Restricted |
| Kunkel State Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 176 | Restricted |
Things to do
3 places to go in Blue Hill Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Boat launches in Blue Hill Township
1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Scenic views in Blue Hill Township
2 scenic views without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
4 named trails and 7 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 3.2 miUnpaved · 15.4 mi
Mahnomen Trail3.1 mi
Blue Hill Trail1.8 mi
Woodland Trail0.5 mi
152nd Street Northwest0.2 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
When to get out
The walking year in Blue Hill Township
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 | 15.3 | 14.1 | 12.5 | 10.8 | 9.4 | 8.7 |
| High (°F) | 22 | 27 | 40 | 55 | 68 | 77 | 81 | 79 | 71 | 57 | 40 | 27 |
| Rain (in) | 0.7 | 0.8 | 1.5 | 2.7 | 4.0 | 4.3 | 4.1 | 3.9 | 3.1 | 2.8 | 1.5 | 1.0 |
January is the driest month (0.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 81 °F). 4.3 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Blue Hill Township →
Next door
Blue Hill Township and its neighbors
Blue Hill Township has the second most mapped trails of the 5 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Orrock Township32 miBlue Hill Township16 miSantiago Township2.7 miBaldwin1.8 miGreenbush Township0.0 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blue Hill Township | 64% | 0.5 | 1 | 4% | C+ |
| Baldwin | under 1% | 0.1 | 11 | 5% | C− |
| Greenbush Township | 11% | under 0.1 | under 1 | under 1% | D |
| Santiago Township | 31% | 0.1 | under 1 | under 1% | C− |
| Orrock Township | 65% | 0.9 | under 1 | under 1% | C+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Blue Hill Township
Where can I hike in Blue Hill Township?
The longest trail networks: Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge, 15.7 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Blue Hill Township is conserved land?
64% 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 Blue Hill Township’s trails?
Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge and Kunkel Wildlife Management Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Blue Hill Township?
6,673 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Blue Hill Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 3 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Blue Hill Township have?
Ahead of 43% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #229 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 Blue Hill Township 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 →