Golden Annviversary State Forest
Managed by Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
1,607 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: Lorie Shaull · CC BY-SA 4.0C−Outdoors
Outdoors in Harris Township
6% of Harris Township’s land is conserved: 1,308 acres
7% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 1.0 miles of mapped trail cross Harris Township. 10 acres are parks and preserves, 2.9 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 19% of U.S. towns · #262 of 274 in Minnesota. What drives it
Conserved land
6%
1,308 acres · of 32.3 sq mi of land
Trails
1.0 mi
0.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
10 ac
2.9 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
7%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.8 mi
0.8 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
6
1 beach · 3 boat launches
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Harris Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Harris Township is ahead of 19% of U.S. towns, #262 of 274 in Minnesota. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
C−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Harris Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land6% of the land · typical MN town 5% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · MN 0.5 · U.S. 0.4C−Park land2.9 acres of park per 1,000 residents (10 acres) · MN 24 · U.S. 13C−Parks close to home7% 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 19%
LessMore
Minnesota towns of 2,500+ (274)Ahead of 4%
Water is 11% of Harris Township’s area (4 of 36 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 6%.
NoteFew parks or trails are mapped in Harris 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.
Golden Anniversary State Forest
Managed by Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
567 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Who protects it
1,308 conserved acres
6% of Harris Township’s land. Water is left out: Harris Township has 32.3 square miles of land and 3.9 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Harris Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources1,258 ac
State fish & wildlife51 ac
State Resource Management Area · 1,258 acState Conservation Area · 51 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miscellaneous State Resource Management Area | State natural resources | 690 | Open |
| Golden Anniversary State Forest State Resource Management Area | State natural resources | 567 | Open |
| PokegState Aquatic Management Area Lake AMA (Itasca) State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 29 | Restricted |
| Wendigo State Aquatic Management Area (Itasca) State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 21 | Restricted |
Things to do
5 places to go in Harris Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Harris Township
Zorbaz Beach
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Harris Township
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in Harris Township
3 boat launches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
6 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.8 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.8 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
8Tennis
2Volleyball
2Basketball
2Pickleball
1Baseball
1Hockey rinks
1Soccer
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The walking year in Harris 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 | 15.1 | 15.9 | 15.5 | 14.2 | 12.5 | 10.8 | 9.3 | 8.5 |
| High (°F) | 19 | 25 | 38 | 52 | 66 | 74 | 79 | 77 | 68 | 53 | 36 | 23 |
| Rain (in) | 0.8 | 0.7 | 1.2 | 2.0 | 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 Harris Township →
Next door
Harris Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Grand Rapids25 miSpang Township17 miWildwood Township13 miHarris Township1.0 miBlackberry Township0.2 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harris Township | 6% | under 0.1 | 3 | 7% | C− |
| Grand Rapids | 4% | 1.1 | 35 | 76% | A− |
| Wildwood Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Blackberry Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Spang 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 Harris Township
How much of Harris Township is conserved land?
6% 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 Harris Township’s trails?
Golden Annviversary State Forest and Golden Anniversary State Forest don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Harris Township?
0.8 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.8 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Harris Township?
47,045 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Harris Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,274 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Harris Township have?
Ahead of 19% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #262 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 Harris 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 →