Barsness Park
Park
185 acres1.3 mi of trail
Hiking Trails
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: McGhiever · CC BY-SA 4.0B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Glenwood
99% of residents live within a half mile of a park in Glenwood
209 acres are parks and preserves, 79 per 1,000 residents. The biggest trail networks: Barsness Park (1.3 mi). 1% of Glenwood’s land is conserved, about 48 acres.
Ahead of 71% of U.S. towns · #145 of 274 in Minnesota. What drives it
Conserved land
1%
48 acres · of 5.7 sq mi of land
Trails
1.6 mi
0.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
209 ac
79 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.6 mi
1.5 mi paths
What kind of outdoors town is Glenwood?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Glenwood have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Glenwood is ahead of 71% of U.S. towns, #145 of 274 in Minnesota. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Glenwood’s overall grade.
Conserved land1% of the land · typical MN town 5% · U.S. 4%CTrails0.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (2 mi) · MN 0.5 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land79 acres of park per 1,000 residents (209 acres) · MN 24 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home99% of residents within a half mile of a park · MN 95% · U.S. 72%A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 71%
LessMore
Minnesota towns of 2,500+ (274)Ahead of 47%
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 Barsness Park, with 1.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Mt. Lookout Park
Park
7 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 5 parks & preserves
Barsness Park185 acres · 1.3 mi of trail
DirectionsMt. Lookout Park7 acres
Glenwood Beach park5 acres
DirectionsEvergreen Park5 acres
DirectionsGlenwood City Park4 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
48 conserved acres
1% of Glenwood’s land. Who manages Glenwood’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service45 ac
Other state land3 ac
Conservation Easement · 48 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 48 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
Things to do
7 places to go in Glenwood
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Glenwood
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Glenwood
4 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Campgrounds in Glenwood
Barsness Park CampgroundFee · In Barsness Park
DirectionsPlus 1 campground without a name on the map.
Trails & water
1 named trail
Named trails
Hiking Trails1.3 mi
Biking & sports
1.6 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.5 mi
off-road bike paths
0.2 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
4Volleyball
3Tennis
3Baseball
2Basketball
2Soccer
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →4 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
When to get out
The walking year in Glenwood
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 | 13.5 | 14.9 | 15.7 | 15.4 | 14.1 | 12.5 | 10.8 | 9.4 | 8.7 |
| High (°F) | 20 | 25 | 38 | 54 | 68 | 77 | 81 | 79 | 71 | 56 | 39 | 25 |
| Rain (in) | 0.6 | 0.6 | 1.2 | 2.3 | 3.2 | 4.4 | 4.3 | 3.7 | 2.9 | 2.5 | 1.1 | 0.7 |
January is the driest month (0.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 81 °F). 4.4 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Glenwood →
Next door
Glenwood and its neighbors
Glenwood has the most mapped trails of the 6 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Glenwood1.6 miGlenwood Township1.5 miReno Township1.3 miLeven Township1.3 miMinnewaska Township0.3 miLong Beach0.1 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Glenwood | 1% | 0.3 | 79 | 99% | B+ |
| Glenwood Township | 17% | under 0.1 | under 1 | 10% | C− |
| Minnewaska Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Reno Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Long Beach | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Leven 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 Glenwood
Where can I hike in Glenwood?
The longest trail networks: Barsness Park, 1.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Glenwood 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.
Are dogs allowed on Glenwood’s trails?
Barsness Park and Mt. Lookout Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Glenwood?
1.6 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.5 of off-road paths and 0.2 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Glenwood?
2,006 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Glenwood or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 209 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Glenwood have?
Ahead of 71% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #145 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 Glenwood 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 →