American Legion Memorial Park
Park
109 acres1.8 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Myotus · CC BY 4.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Grand Rapids
Grand Rapids has 25 miles of mapped trails, 1.1 for every square mile of land
395 acres are parks and preserves, 35 per 1,000 residents. The biggest trail networks: American Legion Memorial Park (1.8 mi). 76% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 78% of U.S. towns · #117 of 274 in Minnesota. What drives it
Conserved land
4%
533 acres · of 22.4 sq mi of land
Trails
25 mi
1.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
395 ac
35 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
76%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
21 mi
19 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
8
1 beach · 4 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Grand Rapids?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Grand Rapids have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Grand Rapids is ahead of 78% of U.S. towns, #117 of 274 in Minnesota. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; trail miles rank highest, conserved land lowest.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Grand Rapids’ overall grade.
Conserved land4% of the land · typical MN town 5% · U.S. 4%B−Trails1.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (25 mi) · MN 0.5 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land35 acres of park per 1,000 residents (395 acres) · MN 24 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home76% 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 78%
LessMore
Minnesota towns of 2,500+ (274)Ahead of 58%
Water is 8% of Grand Rapids’ area (2 of 24 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 4%.
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 American Legion Memorial Park, with 1.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Grussendorf Park
Park
7 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 7 parks & preserves
American Legion Memorial Park109 acres · 1.8 mi of trail
DirectionsVeterans Memorial Park38 acres
DirectionsGrussendorf Park7 acres
Oakland Park5 acres
DirectionsLost Creek Park2 acres
Maplewood Park2 acres
Blandin Beach Park1 acres · City of Grand Rapids
Who protects it
533 conserved acres
4% of Grand Rapids’ land. Water is left out: Grand Rapids has 22.4 square miles of land and 1.9 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Grand Rapids’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city347 ac
State natural resources191 ac
U.S. Forest Service8 ac
Local Recreation Area · 279 acState Resource Management Area · 191 acLocal Park · 67 acNational Forest · 8 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| American Legion Memorial Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 206 | Open |
| Miscellaneous State Resource Management Area | State natural resources | 191 | Open |
| Veterans Memorial Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 43 | Open |
| Grand Rapids Sports Complex Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 31 | Open |
| Willow Park Local Park | Town or city | 16 | Open |
| Chippewa National Forest National Forest | U.S. Forest Service | 8 | Open |
| Oakland Park Local Park | Town or city | 7 | Open |
| Grussendorf Park Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| Grand Rapids Wayside Park Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| Blandin Mississippi River Park Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
38 places to go in Grand Rapids
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Grand Rapids
Blandin Beach
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Grand Rapids
31 playgrounds are on OpenStreetMap in all; the list shows named ones from the first 30.
Boat launches in Grand Rapids
4 boat launches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Campgrounds in Grand Rapids
Itasca County Fairgrouds CampgroundFee
DirectionsDisc golf in Grand Rapids
1 disc golf course without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
1 named trail and 8 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 1.8 mi
North Country Trail3.6 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
21 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
19 mi
off-road bike paths
1.8 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
21Tennis
15Baseball
6Basketball
3Soccer
2Volleyball
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).
Central SchoolBuilding · listed 1977
About itWhen to get out
The walking year in Grand Rapids
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 | 15.1 | 15.9 | 15.6 | 14.2 | 12.5 | 10.8 | 9.2 | 8.5 |
| High (°F) | 18 | 25 | 38 | 52 | 66 | 74 | 79 | 77 | 68 | 53 | 36 | 23 |
| Rain (in) | 0.8 | 0.7 | 1.2 | 1.9 | 3.1 | 4.5 | 4.0 | 3.3 | 3.0 | 2.7 | 1.4 | 1.0 |
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 Grand Rapids →
Next door
Grand Rapids and its neighbors
Grand Rapids has the second most mapped trails of the 5 towns around it. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Rapids | 4% | 1.1 | 35 | 76% | A− |
| Coleraine | 2% | 1.2 | 3 | 43% | C+ |
| Harris Township | 6% | under 0.1 | 3 | 7% | C− |
| Cohasset | 11% | 1.1 | 173 | 25% | A− |
| Arbo 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 Grand Rapids
Where can I hike in Grand Rapids?
The longest trail networks: American Legion Memorial Park, 1.8 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Grand Rapids 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 Rapids’ trails?
American Legion Memorial Park and Veterans Memorial Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Grand Rapids?
21 miles of bike routes are on the map: 19 of off-road paths and 1.8 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Grand Rapids?
23,101 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Grand Rapids or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 586 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Grand Rapids have?
Ahead of 78% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #117 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 Rapids 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 →