Iron Range Off-Highway Vehicle Recreation Area
Managed by Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
775 acres0.4 mi of trail
East Range Multi-Use Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: Myotus · CC BY 4.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Gilbert
Gilbert has 818 acres of parks, 482 for every 1,000 residents
11% of Gilbert’s land is conserved, about 828 acres. 8.7 miles of mapped trail cross Gilbert, 0.7 per square mile of land. 86% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 92% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
11%
828 acres · of 11.7 sq mi of land
Trails
8.7 mi
0.7 per sq mi of land
Park land
818 ac
482 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
86%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
6.8 mi
0.6 mi lanes · 6.2 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
7
2 beaches · 2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Gilbert?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Gilbert have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Gilbert is ahead of 92% of U.S. towns. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; park acres per resident rank highest, the share of residents near a park lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Gilbert’s overall grade.
Conserved land11% of the land · typical MN town 5% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.7 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (9 mi) · MN 0.5 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land482 acres of park per 1,000 residents (818 acres) · MN 24 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home86% 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 92%
LessMore
Water is 6% of Gilbert’s area (1 of 12 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 A− 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 Iron Range Off-Highway Vehicle Recreation Area, with 0.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
828 conserved acres
11% of Gilbert’s land. Water is left out: Gilbert has 11.7 square miles of land and 0.7 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Gilbert’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources828 ac
State Resource Management Area · 828 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miscellaneous State Resource Management Area | State natural resources | 828 | Open |
Things to do
17 places to go in Gilbert
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Gilbert
Sparta Beach
DirectionsPlus 1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Gilbert
4 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Gilbert
2 boat launches without a name on the map.
Picnic areas in Gilbert
8 picnic areas without a name on the map.
Campgrounds in Gilbert
Sherwood Forest CampgroundFee
DirectionsTrails & water
3 named trails and 7 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 7.0 mi
OHV Trail4.1 mi
Gilbert OHV Trail1.5 mi
East Range Multi-Use Trail0.6 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
6.8 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.6 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
6.2 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
4Baseball
4Tennis
2Basketball
1Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
First National Bank of GilbertBuilding · listed 2012
About itWhen to get out
The walking year in Gilbert
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 | 10.8 | 9.2 | 8.5 |
| High (°F) | 17 | 24 | 37 | 51 | 65 | 74 | 78 | 76 | 67 | 52 | 35 | 22 |
| Rain (in) | 0.8 | 0.8 | 1.1 | 1.9 | 3.0 | 4.2 | 3.9 | 3.4 | 3.6 | 2.6 | 1.5 | 1.0 |
February is the driest month (0.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 78 °F). 4.2 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Gilbert →
Next door
Gilbert and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gilbert | 11% | 0.7 | 482 | 86% | A |
| Virginia | 12% | 0.6 | 20 | 88% | A− |
| Biwabik Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Fayal Township | 5% | 0.4 | under 1 | under 1% | C− |
| Eveleth | 5% | 1.1 | 11 | 95% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Gilbert
Where can I hike in Gilbert?
The longest trail networks: Iron Range Off-Highway Vehicle Recreation Area, 0.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Gilbert is conserved land?
11% 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 Gilbert’s trails?
Iron Range Off-Highway Vehicle Recreation Area and Ore-be-gone park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Gilbert?
6.8 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.6 of painted or protected lanes and 6.2 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Gilbert?
50,168 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Gilbert or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,325 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Gilbert have?
Ahead of 92% 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 Gilbert 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 →