Dove Lake Wildlife Management Area
Managed by Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
255 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Bobak Ha'Eri · CC BY 3.0C−Outdoors
Outdoors in Elysian Township
Few parks or trails are on the map in Elysian Township
1% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 1.1 miles of mapped trail cross Elysian Township. 7 acres are parks and preserves, 10 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 21% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
3%
669 acres · of 30.0 sq mi of land
Trails
1.1 mi
0.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
7 ac
10 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
1%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
5.3 mi
5.3 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
11
2 boat launches
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Elysian Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Elysian Township is ahead of 21% 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 Elysian Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land3% of the land · typical MN town 5% · U.S. 4%B−Trails0.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · MN 0.5 · U.S. 0.4C−Park land10 acres of park per 1,000 residents (7 acres) · MN 24 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to home1% 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 21%
LessMore
Water is 14% of Elysian Township’s area (5 of 35 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 3%.
NoteFew parks or trails are mapped in Elysian 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.
Seha Wildlife Management Area
Managed by Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
127 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Earl Swain Wildlife Management Area
Managed by Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
104 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Ray's Lake Park
Park
7 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
669 conserved acres
3% of Elysian Township’s land. Water is left out: Elysian Township has 30.0 square miles of land and 4.8 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Elysian Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State fish & wildlife487 ac
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service104 ac
Other state land41 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)36 ac
Bureau of Land Management3 ac
State Conservation Area · 487 acConservation Easement · 181 acNational Public Lands · 3 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 181 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dove Lake State Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 255 | Restricted |
| Seha State Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 127 | Restricted |
| Earl Swain State Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 103 | Restricted |
| Northeastern States District Office National Public Lands | Bureau of Land Management | 3 | Open |
| Middle Jefferson Lake State Aquatic Management Area (Le Sueur) State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 2 | Restricted |
Things to do
2 places to go in Elysian Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Boat launches in Elysian Township
2 boat launches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
11 lakes & rivers
Biking & sports
5.3 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
5.3 mi
off-road bike paths
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Geldner SawmillStructure · listed 1975
About itWhen to get out
The walking year in Elysian 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) | 9.2 | 10.4 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.8 | 15.5 | 15.2 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.5 | 8.9 |
| High (°F) | 23 | 28 | 41 | 56 | 68 | 79 | 82 | 79 | 72 | 58 | 42 | 28 |
| Rain (in) | 0.9 | 0.9 | 1.7 | 3.2 | 4.4 | 5.0 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 3.5 | 2.5 | 1.6 | 1.2 |
January is the driest month (0.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 5.0 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Elysian Township →
Next door
Elysian Township and its neighbors
Elysian Township has the second most mapped trails of the 7 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Waterville Township4.6 miElysian Township1.1 miJanesville Township0.6 miCleveland Township0.3 miElysian0.0 miCordova Township0.0 miWashington Township0.0 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elysian Township | 3% | under 0.1 | 10 | 1% | C− |
| Elysian | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Cordova Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Waterville Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Janesville Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Cleveland Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Washington 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 Elysian Township
How much of Elysian Township is conserved land?
3% 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 Elysian Township’s trails?
Dove Lake Wildlife Management Area and Seha Wildlife Management Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Elysian Township?
5.3 miles of bike routes are on the map: 5.3 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Elysian Township?
2,095 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Elysian Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 9 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Elysian Township have?
Ahead of 21% 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 Elysian 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 →