Mississippi Headwaters State Forest
Managed by Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
914 acres1.9 mi of trail
Mayflower Road NorthwestBalsam Road Northwest
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
COutdoors
Outdoors in Eckles Township
9% of Eckles Township’s land is conserved: 1,803 acres
The biggest trail networks: Mississippi Headwaters State Forest (1.9 mi). 12 miles of mapped trail cross Eckles Township, 0.4 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 25% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
9%
1,803 acres · of 30.9 sq mi of land
Trails
12 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Near a park
under 1%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
1
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Eckles Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Eckles Township is ahead of 25% 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 Eckles Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land9% of the land · typical MN town 5% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (12 mi) · MN 0.5 · U.S. 0.4BPark land0.0 acres of park per 1,000 residents (0 acres) · MN 24 · U.S. 13DParks close to home0% 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 25%
LessMore
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 Mississippi Headwaters State Forest, with 1.9 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Henry O. Bjoring Wildlife Management Area
Managed by Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
111 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Who protects it
1,803 conserved acres
9% of Eckles Township’s land. Who manages Eckles Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources1,692 ac
State fish & wildlife111 ac
State Resource Management Area · 1,692 acState Conservation Area · 111 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mississippi Headwaters State Forest State Resource Management Area | State natural resources | 914 | Open |
| Miscellaneous State Resource Management Area | State natural resources | 778 | Open |
| Henry O. Bjoring State Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 111 | Restricted |
Things to do
2 places to go in Eckles Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Eckles Township
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
3 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 4.5 mi
Wilton Trail4.3 mi
Mayflower Road Northwest1.6 mi
Balsam Road Northwest0.8 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
When to get out
The walking year in Eckles 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) | 8.8 | 10.2 | 11.8 | 13.6 | 15.1 | 15.9 | 15.6 | 14.2 | 12.5 | 10.7 | 9.2 | 8.5 |
| High (°F) | 17 | 23 | 36 | 51 | 65 | 74 | 78 | 77 | 68 | 52 | 35 | 22 |
| Rain (in) | 0.7 | 0.7 | 1.0 | 1.7 | 2.9 | 4.2 | 3.6 | 3.2 | 2.9 | 2.6 | 1.2 | 0.9 |
February is the driest month (0.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 78 °F). 4.2 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Eckles Township →
Next door
Eckles Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Bemidji18 miNorthern Township18 miEckles Township12 miGrant Valley Township11 miLammers Township8.1 miWilton2.2 miLiberty Township0.8 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eckles Township | 9% | 0.4 | under 1 | under 1% | C |
| Wilton | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Bemidji | 6% | 1.1 | 20 | 93% | A− |
| Lammers Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Northern Township | 21% | 0.8 | 415 | 21% | A− |
| Liberty Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Grant Valley Township | 11% | 0.3 | 2 | 2% | C |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Eckles Township
Where can I hike in Eckles Township?
The longest trail networks: Mississippi Headwaters State Forest, 1.9 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Eckles Township is conserved land?
9% 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 Eckles Township’s trails?
Mississippi Headwaters State Forest and Henry O. Bjoring Wildlife Management Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Eckles Township?
22,197 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Eckles Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,702 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Eckles Township have?
Ahead of 25% 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 Eckles 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 →