Lakeside Park
Park
3 acres0.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Lectrician2 · CC BY-SA 4.0B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Forest Lake
Forest Lake has 549 acres of parks, 26 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Lakeside Park (0.5 mi). 7% of Forest Lake’s land is conserved, about 1,348 acres. 83% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 69% of U.S. towns · #157 of 274 in Minnesota. What drives it
Conserved land
7%
1,348 acres · of 30.5 sq mi of land
Trails
6.6 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
549 ac
26 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
83%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
22 mi
22 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
7
1 beach · 3 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Forest Lake?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Forest Lake have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Forest Lake is ahead of 69% of U.S. towns, #157 of 274 in Minnesota. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Forest Lake’s overall grade.
Conserved land7% of the land · typical MN town 5% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (7 mi) · MN 0.5 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land26 acres of park per 1,000 residents (549 acres) · MN 24 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home83% of residents within a half mile of a park · MN 95% · U.S. 72%B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 69%
LessMore
Minnesota towns of 2,500+ (274)Ahead of 43%
Water is 14% of Forest Lake’s area (5 of 36 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 6%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B 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 Lakeside Park, with 0.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Hardwood Creek Wildlife Management Area
Managed by Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
579 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Lamprey Pass Wildlife Management Area
Managed by Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
50 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 18 parks & preserves
Lakeside Park3 acres · 0.5 mi of trail
Hardwood Creek Wildlife Management Area579 acres · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
DirectionsBixby Park60 acres
DirectionsLamprey Pass Wildlife Management Area50 acres · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
Fenway Park41 acres
DirectionsKulencamp Park17 acres
DirectionsSummerfield Park12 acres
Tower Park6 acres
Schilling Park4 acres
DirectionsBeltz Park4 acres
DirectionsCedar Park2 acres
DirectionsBridle Pass Park2 acres
Sherwood Park2 acres
Clear Lake Park1 acres
Manor Park1 acres
Southview Park1 acres
Eagle Bluff Park1 acres
Bayview Estates Park1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
1,348 conserved acres
7% of Forest Lake’s land. Water is left out: Forest Lake has 30.5 square miles of land and 5.0 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Forest Lake’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State fish & wildlife825 ac
Town or city451 ac
County69 ac
Other state land2 ac
State Conservation Area · 825 acLocal Park · 328 acLocal Recreation Area · 191 acState Other or Unknown · 2 acLocal Other or Unknown · 1 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hardwood Creek State Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 579 | Restricted |
| Lamprey Pass State Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 246 | Restricted |
| Schilling Park / Bixby Park Local Park | Town or city | 186 | Open |
| Fenway Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 79 | Open |
| Hardwood Creek Regional Trail Local Recreation Area | County | 69 | Open |
| Kulencamp Park Local Park | Town or city | 67 | Open |
| Castlewood Golf Course Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 42 | Open |
| Preserve Park Local Park | Town or city | 18 | Open |
| Summerfield Park Local Park | Town or city | 11 | Open |
| Southview Park Local Park | Town or city | 10 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
15 places to go in Forest Lake
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Forest Lake
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Forest Lake
11 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Forest Lake
3 boat launches without a name on the map.
Trails & water
1 named trail and 7 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 0.5 mi
228th Street North0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
22 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
22 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
32Baseball
10Tennis
7Soccer
3Pickleball
3Football
2Basketball
2Beach volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The walking year in Forest Lake
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) | 9.1 | 10.3 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.9 | 15.6 | 15.3 | 14.1 | 12.5 | 10.9 | 9.4 | 8.8 |
| High (°F) | 23 | 28 | 41 | 56 | 69 | 78 | 82 | 80 | 72 | 58 | 41 | 28 |
| Rain (in) | 0.8 | 0.8 | 1.6 | 2.9 | 4.2 | 4.6 | 4.4 | 4.3 | 3.4 | 2.9 | 1.7 | 1.2 |
January is the driest month (0.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 4.6 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Forest Lake →
Next door
Forest Lake and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Scandia14 miColumbus13 miForest Lake6.6 miChisago City3.2 miChisago Lake Township2.9 miHugo0.9 miWyoming0.9 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forest Lake | 7% | 0.2 | 26 | 83% | B+ |
| Scandia | 11% | 0.4 | 316 | 26% | B+ |
| Hugo | 6% | under 0.1 | 66 | 89% | B+ |
| Columbus | 6% | 0.3 | 137 | 23% | B |
| Wyoming | 1% | under 0.1 | 15 | 71% | C |
| Chisago City | 1% | 0.2 | 21 | 59% | C+ |
| Chisago Lake Township | 1% | 0.1 | 24 | 19% | C |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Forest Lake
Where can I hike in Forest Lake?
The longest trail networks: Lakeside Park, 0.5 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Forest Lake is conserved land?
7% 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 Forest Lake’s trails?
Lakeside Park and Hardwood Creek Wildlife Management Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Forest Lake?
22 miles of bike routes are on the map: 22 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Forest Lake?
15,944 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Forest Lake or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 550 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Forest Lake have?
Ahead of 69% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #157 of 274 in Minnesota. 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 Forest Lake 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 →