MAC Wildlife Area
Park
49 acres1.1 mi of trail
MAC Wildlife Walking TrailMAC Wildlife Marsh Wooden BridgeMAC Wildlife Wooden Bridge
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
AOutdoors
Outdoors in Crystal
8% of Crystal’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. The biggest trail networks: MAC Wildlife Area (1.1 mi). 4.0 miles of mapped trail cross Crystal, 0.7 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 85% of U.S. towns · #78 of 274 in Minnesota. What drives it
Conserved land
8%
286 acres · of 5.8 sq mi of land
Trails
4.0 mi
0.7 per sq mi of land
Park land
302 ac
13 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
13 mi
3.6 mi lanes · 8.9 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
4
What kind of outdoors town is Crystal?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Crystal have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Crystal is ahead of 85% of U.S. towns, #78 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 Crystal’s overall grade.
Conserved land8% of the land · typical MN town 5% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.7 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (4 mi) · MN 0.5 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land13 acres of park per 1,000 residents (302 acres) · MN 24 · U.S. 13B−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)Ahead of 85%
LessMore
Minnesota towns of 2,500+ (274)Ahead of 72%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ to 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 MAC Wildlife Area, with 1.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Hagemeister Pond Park Reserve
Park
8 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Lions Valley Place Park
Managed by City of Crystal Parks and Recreation
20 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
North Lions Park
Managed by City of Crystal Parks and Recreation
12 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 25 parks & preserves
MAC Wildlife Area49 acres · 1.1 mi of trail
DirectionsHagemeister Pond Park Reserve8 acres · 0.4 mi of trail
DirectionsLions Valley Place Park20 acres · 0.3 mi of trail · City of Crystal Parks and Recreation
DirectionsNorth Lions Park12 acres · 0.3 mi of trail · City of Crystal Parks and Recreation
Bassett Creek Park80 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsBecker Park9 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · City of Crystal, MN
DirectionsYunkers Park4 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
Broadway Park3 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
Welcome Park12 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsForest Park6 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Crystal Parks and Recreation
DirectionsMike Smothers Memorial Park6 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsNorth Bass Lake Park2 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Memory Lane Park10 acres
Cavanagh Park5 acres · City of Crystal Parks and Rec
Sunnyview Park4 acres
Skyway Park3 acres
Twin Oaks Park3 acres
Sochacki Park2 acres · Three Rivers Park District
Iron Horse Park2 acres
Crystal Highlands Park2 acres
Fred Sims Park1 acres · City of New Hope Parks & Recreation
Kentucky Park1 acres
Elm Grove Park1 acres
Soo Line Park1 acres
Woodlands Park1 acres
Who protects it
286 conserved acres
8% of Crystal’s land. Who manages Crystal’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city283 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government3 ac
Local Recreation Area · 155 acLocal Park · 92 acLocal Conservation Area · 30 acLocal Other or Unknown · 9 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 30 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bassett Creek Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 83 | Open |
| Mac Park Local Park | Town or city | 48 | Open |
| Lions Valley Place Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 21 | Open |
| John Grogan Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 15 | Open |
| North Lions Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 14 | Open |
| Hagemeister Pond Park Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 13 | Open |
| Becker Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 11 | Open |
| Welcome Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 10 | Open |
| Memory Lane Park Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 9 | Open |
| Outlot Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 9 | Unknown |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
22 places to go in Crystal
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Crystal
McDonald's PlayPlace
DirectionsPlus 19 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Crystal
Bassett Creek Dog ParkHours: Mon–Sun 6 am – 10 pm · In Bassett Creek Park
DirectionsFishing spots in Crystal
Fishing DockIn Bassett Creek Park
DirectionsTrails & water
3 named trails and 4 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 2.0 mi
MAC Wildlife Walking Trail0.8 mi
MAC Wildlife Marsh Wooden Bridge0.2 mi
MAC Wildlife Wooden Bridge0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
13 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
3.6 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
8.9 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
19Baseball
10Basketball
8Soccer
8Pickleball
1Skate park
1Beach volleyball
1Tennis
1Volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The walking year in Crystal
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 | 28 |
| Rain (in) | 0.7 | 0.8 | 1.6 | 2.9 | 4.2 | 4.5 | 4.2 | 4.4 | 3.3 | 2.8 | 1.6 | 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 Crystal →
Next door
Crystal and its neighbors
Crystal 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crystal | 8% | 0.7 | 13 | 99%+ | A |
| New Hope | 5% | 0.3 | 9 | 99%+ | B+ |
| Robbinsdale | 10% | 0.6 | 15 | 99%+ | A |
| Brooklyn Center | 6% | 0.3 | 17 | 99%+ | A− |
| Golden Valley | 17% | 2.2 | 52 | 99%+ | A+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Crystal
Where can I hike in Crystal?
The longest trail networks: MAC Wildlife Area, 1.1 miles; Hagemeister Pond Park Reserve, 0.4 miles; Lions Valley Place Park, 0.3 miles; North Lions Park, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Crystal is conserved land?
8% 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 Crystal’s trails?
MAC Wildlife Area and Hagemeister Pond Park Reserve don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Crystal?
13 miles of bike routes are on the map: 3.6 of painted or protected lanes and 8.9 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Crystal?
28,639 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Crystal or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 302 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Crystal have?
Ahead of 85% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #78 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 Crystal 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 →