Frank Wildlife Management Area
Managed by Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
350 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
C−Outdoors
Outdoors in Detroit Township
14% of Detroit Township’s land is conserved: 2,061 acres
4% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 0.1 miles of mapped trail cross Detroit Township.
Ahead of 18% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
14%
2,061 acres · of 22.3 sq mi of land
Trails
0.1 mi
0.0 per sq mi of land
Near a park
4%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.6 mi
0.3 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
12
What kind of outdoors town is Detroit Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Detroit Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Detroit Township is ahead of 18% of U.S. towns. Conserved land holds the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
C−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Detroit Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land14% of the land · typical MN town 5% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (0 mi) · MN 0.5 · U.S. 0.4DPark land0.0 acres of park per 1,000 residents (0 acres) · MN 24 · U.S. 13DParks close to home4% 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 18%
LessMore
Water is 15% of Detroit Township’s area (4 of 26 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 12%.
NoteFew parks or trails are mapped in Detroit 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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Brandy Lake WPA
Managed by United States Fish and Wildlife Service
293 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Tessman WPA
Managed by United States Fish and Wildlife Service
165 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Anderson WPA
Managed by United States Fish and Wildlife Service
41 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 6 parks & preserves
Frank Wildlife Management Area350 acres · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
DirectionsBrandy Lake WPA293 acres · United States Fish and Wildlife Service
Tessman WPA165 acres · United States Fish and Wildlife Service
Anderson WPA41 acres · United States Fish and Wildlife Service
Stenseth Wildlife Management Area28 acres · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
Long Lake AMA17 acres · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
Who protects it
2,061 conserved acres
14% of Detroit Township’s land. Water is left out: Detroit Township has 22.3 square miles of land and 4.0 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Detroit Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service1,744 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)521 ac
State fish & wildlife422 ac
Resource Management Area · 1,275 acConservation Easement · 990 acState Conservation Area · 422 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 977 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Becker County Waterfowl Production Area Resource Management Area | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 1,275 | Restricted |
| Frank State Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 350 | Restricted |
| Stenseth State Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 28 | Restricted |
| Floyd Lake State Aquatic Management Area (Becker) State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 23 | Restricted |
| Long Lake State Aquatic Management Area (Becker) State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 15 | Restricted |
| Little Floyd Lake State Aquatic Management Area (Becker) State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 6 | Restricted |
Trails & water
12 lakes & rivers
Biking & sports
0.6 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.3 mi
off-road bike paths
0.3 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
When to get out
The walking year in Detroit 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) | 8.9 | 10.2 | 11.8 | 13.5 | 15.0 | 15.9 | 15.5 | 14.2 | 12.5 | 10.8 | 9.3 | 8.5 |
| High (°F) | 17 | 23 | 36 | 52 | 66 | 75 | 79 | 78 | 69 | 53 | 36 | 23 |
| Rain (in) | 0.7 | 0.7 | 1.1 | 1.9 | 3.4 | 4.5 | 4.0 | 3.1 | 2.8 | 2.5 | 1.0 | 0.8 |
February is the driest month (0.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 79 °F). 4.5 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Detroit Township →
Next door
Detroit Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Lake View Township9.6 miErie Township8.4 miDetroit Lakes7.4 miAudubon Township2.5 miRichwood Township2.2 miDetroit Township0.1 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Detroit Township | 14% | under 0.1 | under 1 | 4% | C− |
| Detroit Lakes | 4% | 0.6 | 25 | 73% | B+ |
| Lake View Township | 6% | 0.5 | 22 | 17% | B− |
| Richwood Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Erie Township | 12% | 0.3 | 239 | 8% | B |
| Audubon Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Detroit Township
How much of Detroit Township is conserved land?
14% 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 Detroit Township’s trails?
Frank Wildlife Management Area and Brandy Lake WPA don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Detroit Township?
0.6 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.3 of off-road paths and 0.3 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Detroit Township?
2,980 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Detroit Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), almost none of it inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Detroit Township have?
Ahead of 18% 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 Detroit 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 →