Gichigami Ziibi WMA
Managed by Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
2,149 acres6.6 mi of trail
Reservoir Rider Trails
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
C−Outdoors
Outdoors in Grand Lake Township
Grand Lake Township has 37 miles of mapped trails, 0.6 for every square mile of land
The biggest trail networks: Gichigami Ziibi WMA (6.6 mi), Cloquet Valley State Forest (2.3 mi). 4% of Grand Lake Township’s land is conserved, about 1,546 acres.
Ahead of 22% of U.S. towns · #257 of 274 in Minnesota. What drives it
Conserved land
4%
1,546 acres · of 66.1 sq mi of land
Trails
37 mi
0.6 per sq mi of land
Near a park
under 1%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
15
1 boat launch
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Grand Lake Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Grand Lake Township is ahead of 22% of U.S. towns, #257 of 274 in Minnesota. Trail miles hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
C−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Grand Lake Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land4% of the land · typical MN town 5% · U.S. 4%B−Trails0.6 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (37 mi) · MN 0.5 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land0.0 acres of park per 1,000 residents (0 acres) · MN 24 · U.S. 13DParks close to home0% 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 22%
LessMore
Minnesota towns of 2,500+ (274)Ahead of 6%
Water is 8% of Grand Lake Township’s area (6 of 72 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 Grand Lake 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
The longest trail network is Gichigami Ziibi WMA, with 6.6 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Cloquet Valley State Forest
Managed by Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
1,314 acres2.3 mi of trail
Fish Lake Esker Hunter Walking TrailReservoir Rider Trails
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Who protects it
1,546 conserved acres
4% of Grand Lake Township’s land. Water is left out: Grand Lake Township has 66.1 square miles of land and 5.6 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Grand Lake Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources1,543 ac
State fish & wildlife3 ac
State Resource Management Area · 1,543 acState Conservation Area · 3 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cloquet Valley State Forest State Resource Management Area | State natural resources | 1,304 | Open |
| Miscellaneous State Resource Management Area | State natural resources | 239 | Open |
| Little Grand Lake State Aquatic Management Area (St. Louis) State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 3 | Restricted |
Things to do
2 places to go in Grand Lake Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Grand Lake Township
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in Grand Lake Township
Fish Lake South Public Water Access
DirectionsTrails & water
5 named trails and 15 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 3.1 mi
Reservoir Rider Trails11.1 mi
Hwy 8 Grade4.9 mi
Fish Lake Esker Hunter Walking Trail2.0 mi
Lindman Rd0.8 mi
Twig Boulevard0.2 mi
Biking & sports
0.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Courts & fields
2Baseball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The walking year in Grand Lake 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 | 15.9 | 15.5 | 14.2 | 12.5 | 10.8 | 9.3 | 8.5 |
| High (°F) | 18 | 24 | 37 | 50 | 63 | 73 | 78 | 76 | 67 | 52 | 36 | 23 |
| Rain (in) | 0.9 | 0.9 | 1.3 | 2.3 | 3.2 | 4.5 | 4.2 | 3.6 | 3.4 | 3.0 | 1.6 | 1.2 |
February is the driest month (0.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 78 °F). 4.5 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Grand Lake Township →
Next door
Grand Lake Township and its neighbors
Grand Lake Township has the most mapped trails of the 5 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Grand Lake Township37 miFredenberg Township18 miNew Independence Township15 miCanosia Township11 miIndustrial Township0.3 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Lake Township | 4% | 0.6 | under 1 | under 1% | C− |
| Industrial Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Fredenberg Township | 1% | 0.7 | 3 | under 1% | C− |
| New Independence Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Canosia Township | 3% | 0.4 | 4 | 13% | C |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Grand Lake Township
Where can I hike in Grand Lake Township?
The longest trail networks: Gichigami Ziibi WMA, 6.6 miles; Cloquet Valley State Forest, 2.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Grand Lake Township is conserved land?
4% 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 Grand Lake Township’s trails?
Gichigami Ziibi WMA and Cloquet Valley State Forest don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Grand Lake Township?
28,093 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Grand Lake Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,554 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Grand Lake Township have?
Ahead of 22% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #257 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 Grand Lake 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 →