Crow Wing State Forest
Managed by Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
414 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
DOutdoors
Outdoors in Ideal Township
6% of Ideal Township’s land is conserved: 769 acres
0.6 miles of mapped trail cross Ideal Township.
Ahead of 12% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
6%
769 acres · of 20.7 sq mi of land
Trails
0.6 mi
0.0 per sq mi of land
Near a park
under 1%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
22
1 beach · 1 boat launch
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Ideal Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Ideal Township is ahead of 12% of U.S. towns. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
D
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Ideal Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land6% of the land · typical MN town 5% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · MN 0.5 · U.S. 0.4C−Park land0.0 acres of park per 1,000 residents (0 acres) · MN 24 · U.S. 13DParks close to home0% 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 12%
LessMore
Water is 42% of Ideal Township’s area (15 of 36 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 3%.
NoteFew parks or trails are mapped in Ideal 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.
Upgaard Wildlife Management Area
Managed by Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
110 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Who protects it
769 conserved acres
6% of Ideal Township’s land. Water is left out: Ideal Township has 20.7 square miles of land and 15.2 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Ideal Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources493 ac
State fish & wildlife275 ac
State Resource Management Area · 493 acState Conservation Area · 275 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crow Wing State Forest State Resource Management Area | State natural resources | 415 | Open |
| Upgaard State Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 110 | Restricted |
| Hay Creek State Aquatic Management Area (Crow Wing) State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 96 | Restricted |
| Miscellaneous State Resource Management Area | State natural resources | 79 | Open |
| Upper Whitefish State Aquatic Management Area (Crow Wing) State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 52 | Restricted |
| Arrowhead Lake State Aquatic Management Area (Crow Wing) State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 10 | Restricted |
| Pine River Reservoir State Aquatic Management Area (Crow Wing) State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 8 | Restricted |
Things to do
2 places to go in Ideal Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Ideal Township
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in Ideal Township
1 boat launch without a name on the map.
Trails & water
22 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
When to get out
The walking year in Ideal 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 | 15.0 | 15.8 | 15.5 | 14.2 | 12.5 | 10.8 | 9.3 | 8.6 |
| High (°F) | 19 | 25 | 38 | 53 | 66 | 75 | 80 | 78 | 69 | 54 | 38 | 24 |
| Rain (in) | 0.7 | 0.7 | 1.2 | 2.1 | 3.3 | 4.4 | 4.3 | 3.4 | 2.9 | 2.7 | 1.2 | 0.9 |
February is the driest month (0.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 80 °F). 4.4 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Ideal Township →
Next door
Ideal Township 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ideal Township | 6% | under 0.1 | under 1 | under 1% | D |
| Breezy Point | 3% | 0.2 | under 1 | under 1% | D |
| Timothy Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Crosslake | 16% | 0.1 | 2 | 3% | C |
| Pequot Lakes | 4% | 0.7 | 58 | 56% | B+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Ideal Township
How much of Ideal 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 Ideal Township’s trails?
Crow Wing State Forest and Upgaard Wildlife Management Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Ideal Township?
16,571 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Ideal Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 500 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Ideal Township have?
Ahead of 12% 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 Ideal 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 →