Alexander Park
Park
4 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: Tony Webster from Minneapolis, Minnesota · CC BY-SA 2.0C+Outdoors
Outdoors in Cold Spring
Cold Spring has 26 acres of parks, 6.1 for every 1,000 residents
91% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 1% of Cold Spring’s land is conserved, about 20 acres. 0.8 miles of mapped trail cross Cold Spring, 0.3 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 44% of U.S. towns · #226 of 274 in Minnesota. What drives it
Conserved land
1%
20 acres · of 2.8 sq mi of land
Trails
0.8 mi
0.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
26 ac
6.1 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
91%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
4.2 mi
4.2 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Cold Spring?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Cold Spring have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Cold Spring is ahead of 44% of U.S. towns, #226 of 274 in Minnesota. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
C+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Cold Spring’s overall grade.
Conserved land1% of the land · typical MN town 5% · U.S. 4%CTrails0.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · MN 0.5 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land6.1 acres of park per 1,000 residents (26 acres) · MN 24 · U.S. 13CParks close to home91% of residents within a half mile of a park · MN 95% · U.S. 72%B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 44%
LessMore
Minnesota towns of 2,500+ (274)Ahead of 18%
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 Alexander Park, with 0.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Pioneer Park
Park
7 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Cold Spring Baseball Park
Park
6 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
20 conserved acres
1% of Cold Spring’s land. Who manages Cold Spring’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city20 ac
Local Park · 20 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pioneer Park Local Park | Town or city | 13 | Open |
| Lions Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Frogtown Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| North Pointe Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Veteran'S Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
4 places to go in Cold Spring
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Cold Spring
4 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
1 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
4.2 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
4.2 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
8Baseball
8Tennis
1Soccer
1Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →3 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 Cold Spring
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) | 21 | 26 | 39 | 54 | 68 | 77 | 81 | 79 | 71 | 56 | 40 | 26 |
| Rain (in) | 0.7 | 0.8 | 1.5 | 2.6 | 3.6 | 4.3 | 4.0 | 3.9 | 2.9 | 2.5 | 1.4 | 0.9 |
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 Cold Spring →
Questions about parks and trails in Cold Spring
Where can I hike in Cold Spring?
The longest trail networks: Alexander Park, 0.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Cold Spring is conserved land?
1% 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 Cold Spring’s trails?
Alexander Park and Pioneer Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Cold Spring?
4.2 miles of bike routes are on the map: 4.2 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Cold Spring?
1,432 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Cold Spring or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 26 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Cold Spring have?
Ahead of 44% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #226 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 Cold Spring 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 →