Crow Wing State Forest
Managed by Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
2,383 acres1.2 mi of trail
Forest Road 0773
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
COutdoors
Outdoors in Crosslake
16% of Crosslake’s land is conserved: 2,693 acres
The biggest trail networks: Crow Wing State Forest (1.2 mi). 3% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 5 acres are parks and preserves, 2.0 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 28% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
16%
2,693 acres · of 25.8 sq mi of land
Trails
3.0 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
5 ac
2.0 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
3%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
4.7 mi
4.7 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
32
3 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Crosslake?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Crosslake have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Crosslake is ahead of 28% of U.S. towns. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
C
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Crosslake’s overall grade.
Conserved land16% of the land · typical MN town 5% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (3 mi) · MN 0.5 · U.S. 0.4CPark land2.0 acres of park per 1,000 residents (5 acres) · MN 24 · U.S. 13C−Parks close to home3% 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 28%
LessMore
Water is 30% of Crosslake’s area (11 of 37 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 12%.
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 Crow Wing State Forest, with 1.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
2,693 conserved acres
16% of Crosslake’s land. Water is left out: Crosslake has 25.8 square miles of land and 11.1 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Crosslake’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources2,470 ac
State fish & wildlife222 ac
State Resource Management Area · 2,470 acState Conservation Area · 222 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crow Wing State Forest State Resource Management Area | State natural resources | 2,470 | Open |
| Cuyuna Scout Camp State Aquatic Management Area (Crow Wing) State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 198 | Restricted |
| Dassett Island State Aquatic Management Area (Crow Wing) State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 20 | Restricted |
| Ivy Island State Aquatic Management Area (Crow Wing) State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 2 | Restricted |
| Big Pine Lake State Aquatic Management Area (Crow Wing) State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 2 | Restricted |
| Pleasant Lake State Aquatic Management Area (Crow Wing) State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 1 | Restricted |
Things to do
7 places to go in Crosslake
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Crosslake
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in Crosslake
3 boat launches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Campgrounds in Crosslake
Cuyuna Scout CampFee
DirectionsGreer Lake CampgroundFee · In Crow Wing State Forest · Crow Wing STate Forest
DirectionsUS Army Corps of Engineers CampgroundFee
DirectionsTrails & water
1 named trail and 32 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 0.6 mi
Forest Road 07730.5 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Bass LakeBig Bird LakeBig Trout LakelakeCommand LakeCranberry LakeCross LakeDaggett LakeDewdrop LakeFawn LakeFern LakeGoodrich LakelakeGreer LakelakeHen LakeHooligans HoleIsland LakeLily Pad LakeLittle Beaver LakeLittle Bird LakeLittle Pine LakelakeLoon LakeMcClain LakeO'Brien LakeOx LakePecks PuddlePine LakelakePleasant LakeRock LakeRush LakeTamarack LakeTiff LakeVelvet LakePine River
Biking & sports
4.7 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
4.7 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
6Pickleball
5Tennis
2Baseball
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The walking year in Crosslake
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) | 8.9 | 10.2 | 11.8 | 13.5 | 15.0 | 15.8 | 15.5 | 14.2 | 12.5 | 10.8 | 9.3 | 8.6 |
| High (°F) | 19 | 26 | 38 | 53 | 66 | 75 | 80 | 78 | 69 | 54 | 38 | 25 |
| Rain (in) | 0.7 | 0.7 | 1.2 | 2.1 | 3.3 | 4.4 | 4.4 | 3.4 | 2.9 | 2.7 | 1.2 | 0.9 |
January is the driest month (0.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 80 °F). 4.4 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Crosslake →
Next door
Crosslake and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Mission Township32 miFifty Lakes12 miCrosslake3.0 miBreezy Point2.8 miFairfield Township0.8 miIdeal Township0.6 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crosslake | 16% | 0.1 | 2 | 3% | C |
| Fairfield Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Ideal Township | 6% | under 0.1 | under 1 | under 1% | D |
| Fifty Lakes | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Mission Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Breezy Point | 3% | 0.2 | under 1 | under 1% | D |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Crosslake
Where can I hike in Crosslake?
The longest trail networks: Crow Wing State Forest, 1.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Crosslake is conserved land?
16% 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 Crosslake’s trails?
Crow Wing State Forest doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Crosslake?
4.7 miles of bike routes are on the map: 4.7 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Crosslake?
19,374 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Crosslake or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 2,488 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Crosslake have?
Ahead of 28% 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 Crosslake 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 →