Mission Lake Wildlife Management Area
Managed by Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
116 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
DOutdoors
Outdoors in Center Township
6% of Center Township’s land is conserved: 686 acres
1.0 miles of mapped trail cross Center Township, 0.1 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 13% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
6%
686 acres · of 17.8 sq mi of land
Trails
1.0 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Near a park
under 1%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
14
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Center Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Center Township is ahead of 13% of U.S. towns. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
D
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Center Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land6% of the land · typical MN town 5% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · MN 0.5 · U.S. 0.4C−Park land0.0 acres of park per 1,000 residents (0 acres) · MN 24 · U.S. 13DParks close to home0% 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 13%
LessMore
Water is 18% of Center Township’s area (4 of 22 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 5%.
NoteFew parks or trails are mapped in Center 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
The longest trail network is Mission Lake WMA, with 0.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Crow Wing State Forest
Managed by Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
3 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Who protects it
686 conserved acres
6% of Center Township’s land. Water is left out: Center Township has 17.8 square miles of land and 3.9 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Center Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources554 ac
State fish & wildlife132 ac
State Resource Management Area · 554 acState Conservation Area · 132 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miscellaneous State Resource Management Area | State natural resources | 552 | Open |
| Mission Lake State Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 132 | Restricted |
| Crow Wing State Forest State Resource Management Area | State natural resources | 2 | Open |
Trails & water
14 lakes & rivers
When to get out
The walking year in Center 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) | 9.0 | 10.2 | 11.8 | 13.5 | 15.0 | 15.8 | 15.5 | 14.2 | 12.5 | 10.8 | 9.3 | 8.6 |
| High (°F) | 20 | 26 | 38 | 53 | 67 | 76 | 80 | 78 | 69 | 54 | 38 | 25 |
| Rain (in) | 0.7 | 0.7 | 1.3 | 2.1 | 3.5 | 4.4 | 4.5 | 3.5 | 3.0 | 2.8 | 1.3 | 0.9 |
January is the driest month (0.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 80 °F). 4.5 inches fall in July, the wettest month. The climate in Center Township →
Next door
Center Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Mission Township32 miIrondale Township16 miWolford Township13 miOak Lawn Township9.7 miLake Edward Township4.8 miCenter Township1.0 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Center Township | 6% | 0.1 | under 1 | under 1% | D |
| Wolford Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Irondale Township | 5% | 0.6 | 227 | 6% | B |
| Oak Lawn Township | 4% | 0.3 | 6 | 5% | C |
| Mission Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Lake Edward Township | 6% | 0.2 | 2 | 10% | C |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Center Township
Where can I hike in Center Township?
The longest trail networks: Mission Lake Wildlife Management Area, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Center Township is conserved land?
6% 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 Center Township’s trails?
Mission Lake Wildlife Management Area and Crow Wing State Forest don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Center Township?
14,352 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Center Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 558 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Center Township have?
Ahead of 13% 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 Center 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 →