Elm Creek Park Reserve
Managed by Three Rivers Park District
743 acres17.2 mi of trail
GrizzlandHayden LoopLoop BLoop A+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trailheadWebsite ↗
Photo: Widgetkid · CC BY-SA 4.0A+Outdoors
Outdoors in Champlin
21% of Champlin’s land is conserved, and virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park. 20 miles of mapped trail cross Champlin, 2.4 per square mile of land. 21% of Champlin’s land is conserved, about 1,117 acres.
Among the top 1% of U.S. towns · #3 of 274 in Minnesota. What drives it
Conserved land
21%
1,117 acres · of 8.2 sq mi of land
Trails
20 mi
2.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,149 ac
49 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
35 mi
35 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
5
2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Champlin?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Champlin have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Champlin is among the top 1% of U.S. towns, #3 of 274 in Minnesota. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of residents near a park ranks highest, park acres per resident lowest.
A+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Champlin’s overall grade.
Conserved land21% of the land · typical MN town 5% · U.S. 4%ATrails2.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (20 mi) · MN 0.5 · U.S. 0.4A+Park land49 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,149 acres) · MN 24 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to homeVirtually all residents within a half mile of a park · MN 95% · U.S. 72%A+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Among the top 1%
LessMore
Minnesota towns of 2,500+ (274)#3 of 274
Water is 6% of Champlin’s area (1 of 9 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 20%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would still be 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 Elm Creek Park Reserve, with 17.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Donie Galloway Riverside Park
Park
63 acres0.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Schmidt Wildlife Management Area
Managed by Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
45 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 23 parks & preserves
Elm Creek Park Reserve743 acres · 17.2 mi of trail · Three Rivers Park District
DirectionsOxbow Park41 acres · 0.8 mi of trail
DirectionsDonie Galloway Riverside Park63 acres · 0.5 mi of trail
DirectionsNorthland Park16 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsJerry Ruppelius Athletic Complex14 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsSchmidt Wildlife Management Area45 acres · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
Andrews Park39 acres
DirectionsBrittany Park16 acres
DirectionsMississippi Point Park13 acres
DirectionsHighpointe Park9 acres
DirectionsJosephine Nunn Park5 acres
Woodlawn Park5 acres
DirectionsD.C. Chandler Park5 acres
DirectionsEvergreen Park4 acres
Reynolds Park4 acres
DirectionsWest River Park4 acres
DirectionsPines Park2 acres
DirectionsOak Creek Park2 acres
Lakeside Park2 acres
Richardson Park2 acres
DirectionsPaul Wethern Park2 acres
Elm Creek Terrace Park1 acres
Bartusch Park1 acres · City of Champlin
Who protects it
1,117 conserved acres
21% of Champlin’s land. Water is left out: Champlin has 8.2 square miles of land and 0.6 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Champlin’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Regional agency779 ac
Town or city337 ac
Local Conservation Area · 779 acLocal Park · 323 acLocal Recreation Area · 15 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elm Creek Park Reserve Local Conservation Area | Regional agency | 779 | Open |
| Donnie Galloway Park Local Park | Town or city | 63 | Open |
| Andrews Park Local Park | Town or city | 46 | Open |
| Josephine Nunn Park Local Park | Town or city | 38 | Open |
| Oxbow Park Local Park | Town or city | 38 | Open |
| Doris A Kemp Park Local Park | Town or city | 17 | Open |
| Brittany Park Local Park | Town or city | 17 | Open |
| Northland Park Local Park | Town or city | 15 | Open |
| Jerry Ruppelius Athletic Complex Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 15 | Open |
| Bartusch Park Local Park | Town or city | 14 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
27 places to go in Champlin
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Champlin
Bartusch Park PlaygroundIn Bartusch Park
DirectionsPlus 22 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Champlin
Elm Creek Dog Off-Leash AreaIn Elm Creek Park Reserve
DirectionsBoat launches in Champlin
2 boat launches without a name on the map.
Picnic areas in Champlin
1 picnic area without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
6 named trails and 5 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 13.6 miHorses · 1.3 miUnpaved · 19.1 mi
Grizzland2.3 mi
Hayden Loop1.2 mi
Loop B1.2 mi
Loop A0.7 mi
Powerline Lumps0.2 mi
Loop B Spur0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
35 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
35 mi
off-road bike paths
0.1 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Elm Creek Singletrack TrailBike route
13.3 miIntermediate LoopBike route
8.6 miCourts & fields
25Baseball
15Basketball
11Tennis
4Pickleball
3Soccer
2Football
1Skate park
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →2 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
When to get out
September is the best month for walking in Champlin
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) | 23 | 28 | 41 | 56 | 69 | 78 | 82 | 80 | 72 | 58 | 41 | 27 |
| Rain (in) | 0.7 | 0.8 | 1.5 | 2.9 | 4.2 | 4.4 | 4.2 | 4.1 | 3.2 | 2.8 | 1.6 | 1.0 |
January is the driest month (0.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 4.4 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Champlin →
Next door
Champlin and its neighbors
Champlin has the second 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Champlin | 21% | 2.4 | 49 | 99%+ | A+ |
| Coon Rapids | 6% | 0.7 | 22 | 99%+ | A |
| Dayton | 22% | 0.9 | 365 | 82% | A |
| Brooklyn Park | 11% | 0.6 | 23 | 99% | A |
| Anoka | 10% | 1.1 | 29 | 99%+ | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Champlin
Where can I hike in Champlin?
The longest trail networks: Elm Creek Park Reserve, 17.2 miles; Oxbow Park, 0.8 miles; Donie Galloway Riverside Park, 0.5 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Champlin is conserved land?
21% 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 Champlin’s trails?
Elm Creek Park Reserve and Oxbow Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Champlin?
35 miles of bike routes are on the map: 35 of off-road paths and 0.1 of shoulders and shared lanes. Named routes: Elm Creek Singletrack Trail and Intermediate Loop.
Is there public land near Champlin?
23,944 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Champlin or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,149 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Champlin have?
Among the top 1% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #3 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 Champlin 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 →