Mary Schmidt Crawford Woods Scientific Natural Area
Nature preserve
119 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
DOutdoors
Outdoors in Buffalo Township
Few parks or trails are on the map in Buffalo Township
11% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 4% of Buffalo Township’s land is conserved, about 618 acres.
Ahead of 11% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
4%
618 acres · of 25.1 sq mi of land
Trails
0.0 mi
0.0 per sq mi of land
Near a park
11%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
2.3 mi
2.3 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
8
1 beach
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Buffalo Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Buffalo Township is ahead of 11% of U.S. towns. Conserved land holds the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
D
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Buffalo Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land4% of the land · typical MN town 5% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (0 mi) · MN 0.5 · U.S. 0.4DPark land0.2 acres of park per 1,000 residents (0 acres) · MN 24 · U.S. 13DParks close to home11% 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 11%
LessMore
Water is 10% of Buffalo Township’s area (3 of 28 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 4%.
NoteFew parks or trails are mapped in Buffalo Township. OpenStreetMap is mapped by volunteers and coverage varies from town to town, so a town with unmapped parks scores low on them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C−. 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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Myhran Park
Park
1 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
618 conserved acres
4% of Buffalo Township’s land. Water is left out: Buffalo Township has 25.1 square miles of land and 2.6 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Buffalo Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service480 ac
State fish & wildlife189 ac
State natural resources117 ac
Other state land87 ac
Town or city1 ac
Resource Management Area · 480 acState Conservation Area · 306 acConservation Easement · 87 acLocal Park · 1 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 71 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wright County Waterfowl Production Area Resource Management Area | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 240 | Restricted |
| Wright County Waterfowl Production Area Of Mn Resource Management Area | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 240 | Restricted |
| Pelican Lake State Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 189 | Restricted |
| Mary Schmidt Crawford Woods State Scientific and Natural Area State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 117 | Restricted |
| Myhran Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
2 places to go in Buffalo Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Buffalo Township
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Buffalo Township
1 playground without a name on the map.
Trails & water
8 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
2.3 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
2.3 mi
off-road bike paths
When to get out
The walking year in Buffalo 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 | 13.4 | 14.8 | 15.6 | 15.3 | 14.1 | 12.5 | 10.9 | 9.4 | 8.8 |
| High (°F) | 22 | 27 | 40 | 55 | 68 | 78 | 82 | 79 | 72 | 57 | 40 | 27 |
| Rain (in) | 0.7 | 0.8 | 1.5 | 2.8 | 4.1 | 4.5 | 4.0 | 4.1 | 3.3 | 2.6 | 1.4 | 1.0 |
January is the driest month (0.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 4.5 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Buffalo Township →
Next door
Buffalo Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Monticello Township24 miMaple Lake Township9.4 miSt. Michael4.1 miBuffalo1.3 miRockford Township0.2 miBuffalo Township0.0 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buffalo Township | 4% | under 0.1 | under 1 | 11% | D |
| Buffalo | 3% | 0.2 | 10 | 99%+ | B |
| Monticello Township | 5% | 0.6 | 379 | 29% | B+ |
| Rockford Township | 1% | under 0.1 | 1 | 12% | D |
| Maple Lake Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| St. Michael | 8% | 0.1 | 25 | 90% | B+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Buffalo Township
How much of Buffalo Township 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 Buffalo Township’s trails?
Mary Schmidt Crawford Woods Scientific Natural Area and Myhran Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Buffalo Township?
2.3 miles of bike routes are on the map: 2.3 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Buffalo Township?
9,311 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Buffalo Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), almost none of it inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Buffalo Township have?
Ahead of 11% 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 Buffalo 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 →