Paul Hugo Farms Wildlife Management Area
Managed by Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
356 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Hugo
Hugo has 1,072 acres of parks, 66 for every 1,000 residents
89% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 0.9 miles of mapped trail cross Hugo. 6% of Hugo’s land is conserved, about 1,377 acres.
Ahead of 65% of U.S. towns · #170 of 274 in Minnesota. What drives it
Conserved land
6%
1,377 acres · of 33.5 sq mi of land
Trails
0.9 mi
0.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,072 ac
66 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
89%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
32 mi
27 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
10
What kind of outdoors town is Hugo?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Hugo have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Hugo is ahead of 65% of U.S. towns, #170 of 274 in Minnesota. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Hugo’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 land66 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,072 acres) · MN 24 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home89% of residents within a half mile of a park · MN 95% · U.S. 72%B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 65%
LessMore
Minnesota towns of 2,500+ (274)Ahead of 38%
Water is 7% of Hugo’s area (3 of 36 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 6%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A. 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.
Keystone Woods Wildlife Management Area
Managed by Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
235 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Bernin Park
Park
41 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 14 parks & preserves
Hanifl Fields Athletic Park29 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsPaul Hugo Farms Wildlife Management Area356 acres · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
DirectionsKeystone Woods Wildlife Management Area235 acres · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
Bernin Park41 acres
Rice Lake Park40 acres
DirectionsHeritage Ponds Park14 acres
DirectionsDiamond Point Park13 acres
DirectionsOneka Lake Park11 acres
Lions Volunteer Park11 acres
DirectionsBeaver Ponds Park6 acres
Oak Shore Park5 acres · Washington County
DirectionsArbre Park2 acres
DirectionsVal Jean Park2 acres
DirectionsVictor Square Park1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
1,377 conserved acres
6% of Hugo’s land. Water is left out: Hugo has 33.5 square miles of land and 2.6 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Hugo’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Private owners579 ac
Town or city384 ac
State fish & wildlife352 ac
County44 ac
Other state land18 ac
Local Recreation Area · 649 acState Conservation Area · 352 acLocal Park · 263 acLocal Conservation Area · 95 acConservation Easement · 17 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 17 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wild Wings Of Oneka Game Farm Local Recreation Area | Private owners | 498 | Open |
| Paul Hugo Farms State Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 352 | Restricted |
| Irish Avenue Park Local Park | Town or city | 124 | Open |
| Clearwater Creek Preserve Park Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 95 | Open |
| Bald Eagle Sportsmans Association Local Recreation Area | Private owners | 81 | Open |
| Hardwood Creek Regional Trail Local Recreation Area | County | 44 | Open |
| Rice Lake Park Local Park | Town or city | 43 | Open |
| Hanifl Fields Athletic Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 26 | Open |
| Oneka Lake Park Local Park | Town or city | 25 | Open |
| Frog Hollow Park Local Park | Town or city | 21 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
28 places to go in Hugo
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Hugo
28 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
10 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
32 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
27 mi
off-road bike paths
4.8 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
9Soccer
7Basketball
6Baseball
4Pickleball
2Volleyball
2Tennis
1Skate park
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The walking year in Hugo
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) | 23 | 28 | 41 | 56 | 68 | 78 | 82 | 80 | 71 | 57 | 41 | 28 |
| Rain (in) | 0.8 | 0.8 | 1.6 | 2.9 | 4.2 | 4.7 | 4.2 | 4.6 | 3.3 | 2.8 | 1.7 | 1.1 |
January is the driest month (0.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 4.7 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Hugo →
Next door
Hugo and its neighbors
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hugo | 6% | under 0.1 | 66 | 89% | B+ |
| May Township | 6% | under 0.1 | 30 | 21% | C+ |
| Lino Lakes | 2% | 0.6 | 15 | 89% | B |
| Forest Lake | 7% | 0.2 | 26 | 83% | B+ |
| Grant | 1% | 0.2 | 32 | 37% | C+ |
| White Bear Township | 32% | 3.3 | 162 | 99%+ | A+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Hugo
How much of Hugo 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 Hugo’s trails?
Paul Hugo Farms Wildlife Management Area and Keystone Woods Wildlife Management Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Hugo?
32 miles of bike routes are on the map: 27 of off-road paths and 4.8 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Hugo?
23,531 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Hugo or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,072 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Hugo have?
Ahead of 65% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #170 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 Hugo 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 →