Burr Oak Lake WPA
Managed by United States Fish and Wildlife Service
336 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
C−Outdoors
Outdoors in Green Lake Township
14% of Green Lake Township’s land is conserved: 2,692 acres
0.4 miles of mapped trail cross Green Lake Township.
Ahead of 17% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
14%
2,692 acres · of 30.4 sq mi of land
Trails
0.4 mi
0.0 per sq mi of land
Near a park
under 1%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
13 mi
9.7 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
5
What kind of outdoors town is Green Lake Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Green Lake Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Green Lake Township is ahead of 17% 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 Green Lake Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land14% of the land · typical MN town 5% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (0 mi) · MN 0.5 · U.S. 0.4DPark land0.1 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 17%
LessMore
Water is 11% of Green Lake Township’s area (4 of 34 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 12%.
NoteFew parks or trails are mapped in Green 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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Kandi Wildlife Management Area
Managed by Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
126 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Swanson WPA
Managed by United States Fish and Wildlife Service
102 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Eagle Wildlife Management Area
Managed by Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
48 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
2,692 conserved acres
14% of Green Lake Township’s land. Water is left out: Green Lake Township has 30.4 square miles of land and 3.7 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Green Lake Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service3,108 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)255 ac
State fish & wildlife228 ac
Town or city1 ac
Conservation Easement · 1,746 acResource Management Area · 1,618 acState Conservation Area · 228 acLocal Recreation Area · 1 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1,641 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kandiyohi County Waterfowl Production Area Resource Management Area | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 1,618 | Restricted |
| Kandi State Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 126 | Restricted |
| Eagle State Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 48 | Restricted |
| Green Lake State Aquatic Management Area (Kandiyohi) State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 45 | Restricted |
| Eagle Lake II State Aquatic Management Area (Kandiyohi) State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 9 | Restricted |
| Green Lake Diamonds Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Trails & water
5 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
13 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
9.7 mi
off-road bike paths
2.8 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
John M. Spicer Summer House and FarmBuilding · listed 1986
About itWhen to get out
The walking year in Green 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) | 9.1 | 10.3 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.8 | 15.6 | 15.3 | 14.1 | 12.5 | 10.9 | 9.5 | 8.8 |
| High (°F) | 21 | 26 | 39 | 55 | 68 | 78 | 82 | 79 | 72 | 57 | 40 | 26 |
| Rain (in) | 0.7 | 0.8 | 1.5 | 2.6 | 3.4 | 4.6 | 3.9 | 3.8 | 3.0 | 2.3 | 1.3 | 0.9 |
January is the driest month (0.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 4.6 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Green Lake Township →
Next door
Green Lake Township and its neighbors
Green Lake Township has the most mapped trails of the 5 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Green Lake Township0.4 miSpicer0.4 miKandiyohi Township0.4 miNew London Township0.2 miDovre Township0.2 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Green Lake Township | 14% | under 0.1 | under 1 | under 1% | C− |
| Spicer | 6% | 0.3 | 22 | 98% | A− |
| New London Township | 15% | under 0.1 | 4 | 10% | C− |
| Dovre Township | 10% | under 0.1 | under 1 | under 1% | D |
| Kandiyohi 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 Green Lake Township
How much of Green Lake Township is conserved land?
14% 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 Green Lake Township’s trails?
Burr Oak Lake WPA and Kandi Wildlife Management Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Green Lake Township?
13 miles of bike routes are on the map: 9.7 of off-road paths and 2.8 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Green Lake Township?
3,427 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Green Lake Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), almost none of it inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Green Lake Township have?
Ahead of 17% 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 Green 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 →