Mississippi Headwaters State Forest
Managed by Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
1,733 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
COutdoors
Outdoors in Grant Valley Township
11% of Grant Valley Township’s land is conserved: 2,327 acres
2% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 5 acres are parks and preserves, 2.1 per 1,000 residents. 11 miles of mapped trail cross Grant Valley Township, 0.3 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 32% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
11%
2,327 acres · of 33.9 sq mi of land
Trails
11 mi
0.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
5 ac
2.1 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
2%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
11
1 beach · 2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Grant Valley Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Grant Valley Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Grant Valley Township is ahead of 32% of U.S. towns. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
C
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Grant Valley Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land11% of the land · typical MN town 5% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (11 mi) · MN 0.5 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land2.1 acres of park per 1,000 residents (5 acres) · MN 24 · U.S. 13C−Parks close to home2% 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 32%
LessMore
Water is 5% of Grant Valley Township’s area (2 of 36 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 C− to B−. 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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
2,327 conserved acres
11% of Grant Valley Township’s land. Water is left out: Grant Valley Township has 33.9 square miles of land and 1.9 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Grant Valley Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources2,327 ac
State Resource Management Area · 2,327 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mississippi Headwaters State Forest State Resource Management Area | State natural resources | 1,733 | Open |
| Miscellaneous State Resource Management Area | State natural resources | 594 | Open |
Things to do
5 places to go in Grant Valley Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Grant Valley Township
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Grant Valley Township
1 playground without a name on the map.
Boat launches in Grant Valley Township
2 boat launches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Campgrounds in Grant Valley Township
Iron Bridge CampsiteIn Mississippi Headwaters State Forest · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
DirectionsTrails & water
4 named trails and 11 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 3.8 mi
Fern Lake Trail3.5 mi
Wilton Trail2.1 mi
Archery Road Northwest0.7 mi
Gardner Court Northwest0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
When to get out
The walking year in Grant Valley 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) | 8.8 | 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 | 23 | 36 | 51 | 65 | 74 | 79 | 77 | 68 | 53 | 35 | 22 |
| Rain (in) | 0.7 | 0.7 | 1.0 | 1.8 | 3.0 | 4.3 | 3.6 | 3.2 | 2.9 | 2.6 | 1.2 | 0.9 |
February is the driest month (0.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 79 °F). 4.3 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Grant Valley Township →
Next door
Grant Valley Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Fern Township35 miRockwood Township30 miBemidji18 miNorthern Township18 miJones Township17 miEckles Township12 miGrant Valley Township11 miBemidji Township6.1 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grant Valley Township | 11% | 0.3 | 2 | 2% | C |
| Bemidji Township | 1% | 0.3 | under 1 | 3% | D |
| Bemidji | 6% | 1.1 | 20 | 93% | A− |
| Rockwood Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Eckles Township | 9% | 0.4 | under 1 | under 1% | C |
| Jones Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Fern Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Northern Township | 21% | 0.8 | 415 | 21% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Grant Valley Township
How much of Grant Valley Township 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 Grant Valley Township’s trails?
Mississippi Headwaters State Forest and Roglien Memorial Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Grant Valley Township?
26,509 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Grant Valley Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 2,334 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Grant Valley Township have?
Ahead of 32% 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 Grant Valley 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 →