Howard Lake City Hall · Photo: William Wesen Appraiser · CC BY-SA 3.0Howard Lake has 4 acres of parks, 2.4 for every 1,000 residents
0.2 miles of mapped trail cross Howard Lake, 0.1 per square mile of land. 70% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 18% of U.S. towns. What drives it
How much outdoors does Howard Lake have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Howard Lake is ahead of 18% of U.S. towns. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Pick a walk
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Dutch Lake Park
6 places to go in Howard Lake
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
6 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
2.6 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
The walking year in Howard Lake
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) | 22 | 27 | 40 | 55 | 68 | 78 | 82 | 79 | 72 | 57 | 40 | 27 |
| Rain (in) | 0.7 | 0.8 | 1.5 | 2.7 | 3.9 | 4.6 | 3.8 | 4.0 | 3.3 | 2.4 | 1.4 | 1.0 |
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 Howard Lake →
Howard Lake and its neighbors
Howard Lake has the most mapped trails of the 3 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Howard Lake | under 1% | 0.1 | 2 | 70% | C− |
| Middleville Township | 1% | under 0.1 | 134 | 12% | C |
| Victor Township | 2% | under 0.1 | 39 | 3% | C− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Howard Lake
How much of Howard Lake is conserved land?
under 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 Howard Lake’s trails?
Lion's Park and Dutch Lake Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Howard Lake?
2.6 miles of bike routes are on the map: 2.6 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Howard Lake?
974 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Howard Lake or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 4 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Howard Lake have?
Ahead of 18% 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 Howard Lake neighbors.
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 →