Garfield Wildlife Management Area
Managed by Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
79 acres0.3 mi of trail
Yukon Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
C−Outdoors
Outdoors in Ida Township
6% of Ida Township’s land is conserved: 1,006 acres
1 acre is park or preserve, 0.4 per 1,000 residents. 8% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 4.4 miles of mapped trail cross Ida Township, 0.2 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 21% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
6%
1,006 acres · of 28.0 sq mi of land
Trails
4.4 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
1 ac
0.4 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
8%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.3 mi
1.3 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
5
3 boat launches
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Ida Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Ida Township is ahead of 21% of U.S. towns. Conserved land holds the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
C−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Ida Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land6% of the land · typical MN town 5% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (4 mi) · MN 0.5 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land0.4 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1 acre) · MN 24 · U.S. 13DParks close to home8% 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 21%
LessMore
Water is 21% of Ida Township’s area (8 of 35 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 4%.
NoteFew parks or trails are mapped in Ida 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
The longest trail network is Garfield WMA, with 0.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
1,006 conserved acres
6% of Ida Township’s land. Water is left out: Ida Township has 28.0 square miles of land and 7.5 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Ida Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service940 ac
State fish & wildlife147 ac
Other state land74 ac
State natural resources40 ac
Conservation Easement · 863 acResource Management Area · 151 acState Conservation Area · 147 acState Resource Management Area · 40 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 744 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Garfield State Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 79 | Restricted |
| Douglas County Waterfowl Production Area Of Mn Resource Management Area | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 76 | Restricted |
| Douglas County Waterfowl Production Area Resource Management Area | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 76 | Restricted |
| Ida Lake State Aquatic Management Area (Douglas) State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 68 | Restricted |
| Miscellaneous State Resource Management Area | State natural resources | 40 | Open |
Things to do
3 places to go in Ida Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Boat launches in Ida Township
3 boat launches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
1 named trail and 5 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 1.5 mi
Yukon Trail0.5 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
1.3 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.3 mi
off-road bike paths
When to get out
The walking year in Ida 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) | 9.0 | 10.3 | 11.8 | 13.5 | 14.9 | 15.7 | 15.4 | 14.1 | 12.5 | 10.8 | 9.4 | 8.7 |
| High (°F) | 19 | 24 | 37 | 53 | 67 | 76 | 80 | 78 | 70 | 55 | 38 | 24 |
| Rain (in) | 0.6 | 0.6 | 1.1 | 2.1 | 3.3 | 4.3 | 4.4 | 3.4 | 2.8 | 2.5 | 1.0 | 0.7 |
February is the driest month (0.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 80 °F). 4.4 inches fall in July, the wettest month. The climate in Ida Township →
Next door
Ida Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Brandon Township15 miCarlos Township13 miLa Grand Township10 miLeaf Valley Township4.6 miIda Township4.4 miGarfield0.0 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ida Township | 6% | 0.2 | under 1 | 8% | C− |
| Garfield | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Brandon Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Carlos Township | 9% | 0.4 | 528 | 30% | B+ |
| La Grand Township | 4% | 0.4 | 37 | 31% | B |
| Leaf Valley 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 Ida Township
Where can I hike in Ida Township?
The longest trail networks: Garfield Wildlife Management Area, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Ida 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 Ida Township’s trails?
Garfield Wildlife Management Area doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Ida Township?
1.3 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.3 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Ida Township?
2,674 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Ida Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 41 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Ida Township have?
Ahead of 21% 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 Ida 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 →