Detroit Mountain Recreation Area
Park
335 acres5.8 mi of trail
More CowbellBuckhornSouth ShoreTerrapin Turnpike+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
BOutdoors
Outdoors in Erie Township
Erie Township has 335 acres of parks, 239 for every 1,000 residents
12% of Erie Township’s land is conserved, about 2,385 acres. The biggest trail networks: Detroit Mountain Recreation Area (5.8 mi). 8% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 62% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
12%
2,385 acres · of 32.3 sq mi of land
Trails
8.4 mi
0.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
335 ac
239 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
8%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
1,624 ft
Detroit Mountain
Lakes & rivers
12
1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Erie Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Erie Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Erie Township is ahead of 62% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Erie Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land12% of the land · typical MN town 5% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (8 mi) · MN 0.5 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land239 acres of park per 1,000 residents (335 acres) · MN 24 · U.S. 13AParks close to home8% 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 62%
LessMore
Water is 11% of Erie Township’s area (4 of 36 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 10%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ 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 Detroit Mountain Recreation Area, with 5.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Hubbel Pond Wildlife Management Area
Managed by Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
581 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Pickerel Wildlife Management Area
Managed by Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
320 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Shelly Island Wildlife Management Area
Managed by Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
102 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
2,385 conserved acres
12% of Erie Township’s land. Water is left out: Erie Township has 32.3 square miles of land and 4.1 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Erie Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources960 ac
State fish & wildlife948 ac
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service582 ac
State Resource Management Area · 960 acState Conservation Area · 948 acConservation Easement · 373 acResource Management Area · 209 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 373 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miscellaneous State Resource Management Area | State natural resources | 960 | Open |
| Hubbel Pond State Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 524 | Restricted |
| Pickerel State Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 320 | Restricted |
| Becker County Waterfowl Production Area Resource Management Area | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 209 | Restricted |
| Shelly Island State Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 103 | Restricted |
| Pickerel Lake State Aquatic Management Area (Becker) State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 1 | Restricted |
Things to do
2 places to go in Erie Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Boat launches in Erie Township
Public Boat Access
DirectionsPeaks in Erie Township
Detroit Mountain1,624 ft elevation · In Detroit Mountain Recreation Area
DirectionsTrails & water
12 named trails and 12 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 3.6 miUnpaved · 7.0 mi
More Cowbell1.3 mi
Mountain View Connector0.5 mi
Buckhorn0.5 mi
South Shore0.4 mi
Terrapin Turnpike0.4 mi
Mustard Tiger0.4 mi
Taproom0.3 mi
Sasquatch0.3 mi
Peek-a-Boo0.3 mi
East Shore0.2 mi
2 more trails
Don Johnson
0.2 miChainlink
0.1 miWhen to get out
The walking year in Erie 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 | 15.8 | 15.5 | 14.2 | 12.5 | 10.8 | 9.3 | 8.5 |
| High (°F) | 17 | 23 | 36 | 52 | 66 | 75 | 79 | 77 | 69 | 53 | 36 | 23 |
| Rain (in) | 0.7 | 0.7 | 1.1 | 1.9 | 3.3 | 4.5 | 4.0 | 3.1 | 2.8 | 2.6 | 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 Erie Township →
Next door
Erie Township and its neighbors
Erie Township has the second most mapped trails of the 5 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Height of Land Township42 miErie Township8.4 miBurlington Township6.3 miHolmesville Township2.7 miDetroit Township0.1 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Erie Township | 12% | 0.3 | 239 | 8% | B |
| Detroit Township | 14% | under 0.1 | under 1 | 4% | C− |
| Height of Land Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Holmesville Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Burlington Township | 3% | 0.2 | 72 | 8% | C+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Erie Township
Where can I hike in Erie Township?
The longest trail networks: Detroit Mountain Recreation Area, 5.8 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Erie Township is conserved land?
12% 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 Erie Township’s trails?
Detroit Mountain Recreation Area and Hubbel Pond Wildlife Management Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Erie Township?
5,246 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Erie Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,305 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Erie Township have?
Ahead of 62% 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 Erie 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 →