Few parks or trails are on the map in Elgin
57% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 13 acres are parks and preserves, 11 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 23% of U.S. towns. What drives it
How much outdoors does Elgin have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Elgin is ahead of 23% of U.S. towns. All four inputs are below most U.S. towns; park acres per resident come closest.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
6 conserved acres
1% of Elgin’s land. Who manages Elgin’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whitewater Way State Aquatic Management Area (Wabasha) State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 6 | Restricted |
1 places to go in Elgin
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
1 lakes & rivers
0.6 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
The walking year in Elgin
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) | 9.2 | 10.4 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.7 | 15.5 | 15.2 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.5 | 8.9 |
| High (°F) | 23 | 28 | 41 | 56 | 68 | 78 | 81 | 79 | 72 | 58 | 42 | 29 |
| Rain (in) | 1.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 3.5 | 4.5 | 5.5 | 4.3 | 4.5 | 3.6 | 2.5 | 1.8 | 1.3 |
January is the driest month (1.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 81 °F). 5.5 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Elgin →
Questions about parks and trails in Elgin
How much of Elgin 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.
Where can I bike in Elgin?
0.6 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.6 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Elgin?
3,583 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Elgin or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 13 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Elgin have?
Ahead of 23% 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 Elgin neighbors.
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 →