Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park in Buffalo
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park. 1.3 miles of mapped trail cross Buffalo, 0.2 per square mile of land. 170 acres are parks and preserves, 10 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 60% of U.S. towns · #191 of 274 in Minnesota. What drives it
What kind of outdoors town is Buffalo?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
How much outdoors does Buffalo have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Buffalo is ahead of 60% of U.S. towns, #191 of 274 in Minnesota. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
Water is 22% of Buffalo’s area (2 of 10 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 2%.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Pick a walk
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Trapper's Pond Park
All 25 parks & preserves
160 conserved acres
3% of Buffalo’s land. Water is left out: Buffalo has 7.8 square miles of land and 2.1 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Buffalo’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bentfield Mills Park Local Park | Town or city | 44 | Open |
| Mills Sturges Park Local Park | Town or city | 14 | Open |
| West Pulaski Park Local Park | Town or city | 14 | Open |
| Sturges Park Local Park | Town or city | 13 | Open |
| Greenbriar Park Local Park | Town or city | 8 | Open |
| Trappers Pond Park Local Park | Town or city | 7 | Open |
| Buffalo Hills Park Local Park | Town or city | 7 | Open |
| Gary Mattson Park Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| Serenity Hills Park Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Open |
| Lions Park Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
67 places to go in Buffalo
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
17 beaches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
46 playgrounds are on OpenStreetMap in all; the list shows named ones from the first 30.
3 boat launches without a name on the map.
3 lakes & rivers
23 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
The walking year in Buffalo
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 | 9.5 | 8.8 |
| High (°F) | 22 | 27 | 40 | 55 | 68 | 77 | 82 | 79 | 72 | 57 | 40 | 27 |
| Rain (in) | 0.7 | 0.8 | 1.5 | 2.8 | 4.0 | 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 →
Buffalo and its neighbors
Buffalo 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buffalo | 3% | 0.2 | 10 | 99%+ | B |
| Buffalo Township | 4% | under 0.1 | under 1 | 11% | D |
| Rockford Township | 1% | under 0.1 | 1 | 12% | D |
| Maple 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 Buffalo
How much of Buffalo is conserved land?
3% 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’s trails?
West Pulaski Park and Sturges Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Buffalo?
23 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.4 of painted or protected lanes and 23 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Buffalo?
8,165 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Buffalo or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 170 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Buffalo have?
Ahead of 60% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #191 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 Buffalo neighbors.
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 →