Cedar Lake Farm Regional Park
Managed by Three Rivers Parks
267 acres3.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trailhead
C+Outdoors
Outdoors in Helena Township
Helena Township has 269 acres of parks, 152 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Cedar Lake Farm Regional Park (3.2 mi). 4.5 miles of mapped trail cross Helena Township, 0.1 per square mile of land. 32% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 42% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
1%
224 acres · of 32.7 sq mi of land
Trails
4.5 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
269 ac
152 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
32%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.5 mi
0.5 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
2
1 beach
What kind of outdoors town is Helena Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Helena Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Helena Township is ahead of 42% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
C+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Helena Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land1% of the land · typical MN town 5% · U.S. 4%CTrails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (5 mi) · MN 0.5 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land152 acres of park per 1,000 residents (269 acres) · MN 24 · U.S. 13AParks close to home32% of residents within a half mile of a park · MN 95% · U.S. 72%C
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 42%
LessMore
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
The longest trail network is Cedar Lake Farm Regional Park, with 3.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Marsh Wildlife Management Area
Managed by Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
51 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Who protects it
224 conserved acres
1% of Helena Township’s land. Who manages Helena Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State fish & wildlife106 ac
Other state land60 ac
County58 ac
State Conservation Area · 106 acConservation Easement · 60 acLocal Park · 58 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 60 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marsh State Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 106 | Restricted |
| Cedar Lake Farm Regional Park Local Park | County | 58 | Open |
Things to do
3 places to go in Helena Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Helena Township
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Helena Township
1 playground without a name on the map.
Campgrounds in Helena Township
1 campground without a name on the map.
Trails & water
2 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.5 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.5 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
1Baseball
1Tennis
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The walking year in Helena 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) | 9.2 | 10.4 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.8 | 15.5 | 15.2 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.5 | 8.8 |
| High (°F) | 23 | 28 | 41 | 56 | 69 | 79 | 82 | 80 | 73 | 58 | 42 | 28 |
| Rain (in) | 0.9 | 0.9 | 1.7 | 3.1 | 4.4 | 4.9 | 4.3 | 4.4 | 3.3 | 2.6 | 1.6 | 1.2 |
January is the driest month (0.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 4.9 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Helena Township →
Next door
Helena Township and its neighbors
Helena Township has the second most mapped trails of the 5 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Sand Creek Township11 miHelena Township4.5 miCedar Lake Township4.5 miNew Prague2.1 miBelle Plaine Township0.8 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Helena Township | 1% | 0.1 | 152 | 32% | C+ |
| New Prague | 4% | 0.5 | 13 | 99%+ | B+ |
| Sand Creek Township | 6% | 0.3 | 149 | 8% | B |
| Cedar Lake Township | 6% | 0.1 | 160 | 10% | B− |
| Belle Plaine 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 Helena Township
Where can I hike in Helena Township?
The longest trail networks: Cedar Lake Farm Regional Park, 3.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Helena Township is conserved land?
1% 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 Helena Township’s trails?
Cedar Lake Farm Regional Park and Marsh Wildlife Management Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Helena Township?
0.5 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.5 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Helena Township?
6,811 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Helena Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 269 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Helena Township have?
Ahead of 42% 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 Helena 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 →