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A+Outdoors
Outdoors in La Crescent

La Crescent has 9.7 miles of mapped trails, 2.9 for every square mile of land

22% of La Crescent’s land is conserved, about 476 acres. 99% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 244 acres are parks and preserves, 47 per 1,000 residents.

Ahead of 98% of U.S. towns · #6 of 274 in Minnesota. What drives it

Conserved land
22%
476 acres · of 3.4 sq mi of land
Trails
9.7 mi
2.9 per sq mi of land
Park land
244 ac
47 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
9.7 mi
7.2 mi lanes · 2.2 mi paths

What kind of outdoors town is La Crescent?

Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.

A trail town2.9 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, more than 97% of U.S. towns.Land that stays wild22% of the land is conserved; a typical Minnesota town, 5%.Parks close to home99% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Outdoors grade

How much outdoors does La Crescent have?

On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, La Crescent is ahead of 98% of U.S. towns, #6 of 274 in Minnesota. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; trail miles rank highest, park acres per resident lowest.

A+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of La Crescent’s overall grade.
Conserved land22% of the land · typical MN town 5% · U.S. 4%ATrails2.9 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (10 mi) · MN 0.5 · U.S. 0.4A+Park land47 acres of park per 1,000 residents (244 acres) · MN 24 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home99% of residents within a half mile of a park · MN 95% · U.S. 72%A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 98%
LessMore
Minnesota towns of 2,500+ (274)Ahead of 98%

Water is 13% of La Crescent’s area (0 of 4 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 19%.

How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would still be 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.

1234
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 Stoney Point Park, with 2.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.

Stoney Point Park

Park
59 acres2.2 mi of trail
53303734+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trail sign

Vetsch Park

Park
25 acres1.7 mi of trail
18272511+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trail sign

Lancer Environmental Park

Managed by Lacrescent school district
8 acres0.9 mi of trail
Pine Creek
Dogs on leash
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗

Vollenweider Park

Park
18 acres0.4 mi of trail
134
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trail sign
All 8 parks & preserves
Stoney Point Park59 acres · 2.2 mi of trail
Directions
Vetsch Park25 acres · 1.7 mi of trail
Directions
Lancer Environmental Park8 acres · 0.9 mi of trail · Lacrescent school district
Vollenweider Park18 acres · 0.4 mi of trail
Directions
Old Hickory Park18 acres
Directions
City of La Crescent6 acres
Wieser Memorial Park4 acres · city of LaCrescent
Valley South Park1 acres
Who protects it

476 conserved acres

22% of La Crescent’s land. Water is left out: La Crescent has 3.4 square miles of land and 0.5 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages La Crescent’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service829 ac
Town or city48 ac
Other state land14 ac
National Wildlife Refuge · 829 acLocal Park · 48 acConservation Easement · 14 ac
Good to know

Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 14 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.

The biggest protected parcels
Parcel (PAD-US)Managed byAcresPublic access
Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife And Fish Refuge
National Wildlife Refuge
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service829Restricted
Old Hickory Park
Local Park
Town or city19Open
Vetsch Park
Local Park
Town or city14Open
Veterans Park
Local Park
Town or city6Open
La Crescent Community Center & Park
Local Park
Town or city4Open
John S Harris Park
Local Park
Town or city3Open
Valley South Park
Local Park
Town or city1Open
Things to do

12 places to go in La Crescent

Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.

Scenic views in La Crescent
Stoney PointIn Stoney Point Park
Directions
Table rock
Directions

Plus 4 scenic views without a name on the map.

Trails & water

25 named trails

Named trails
Open to bikes · 6.2 miUnpaved · 9.0 mi
Horsetrack Meadows0.9 mi
Red apple0.7 mi
Eagle Bluff Loop0.5 mi
Boy Scout0.4 mi
McIntosh0.4 mi
530.4 mi
Red Apple Rocks0.4 mi
300.3 mi
Pine Creek0.3 mi
10.2 mi
15 more trails
37
0.2 mi
35
0.2 mi
34
0.2 mi
3
0.2 mi
18
0.2 mi
52
0.1 mi
27
0.1 mi
43
0.1 mi
25
0.1 mi
11
0.1 mi
22
0.1 mi
RedApple
0.1 mi
49
0.1 mi
16
0.1 mi
4
0.1 mi
Biking & sports

9.7 miles of bike routes

Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.

7.2 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
2.2 mi
off-road bike paths
0.3 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
8Baseball
4Tennis
1Basketball
1Hockey rinks
1Beach volleyball

Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.

History along the way

1 place on the National Register

The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).

History →
Daniel Cameron HouseBuilding · listed 1982
About it
When to get out

The walking year in La Crescent

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.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)9.310.411.813.414.715.415.114.012.410.99.68.9
High (°F)263144587079838173604431
Rain (in)1.21.11.93.94.85.34.34.23.82.81.91.4

February is the driest month (1.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 5.3 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in La Crescent →

Next door

La Crescent and its neighbors

La Crescent has the most mapped trails of the 3 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.

La Crescent9.7 miLa Crescent Township1.1 miDresbach Township0.9 mi
TownConserved
of land		Trail mi
per sq mi		Park acres
per 1,000		Near a park
½ mile		Outdoors
La Crescent22%2.94799%A+
La Crescent Township16%0.1351%C+
Dresbach 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 La Crescent

Where can I hike in La Crescent?

The longest trail networks: Stoney Point Park, 2.2 miles; Vetsch Park, 1.7 miles; Lancer Environmental Park, 0.9 miles; Vollenweider Park, 0.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.

How much of La Crescent is conserved land?

22% 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 La Crescent’s trails?

OpenStreetMap records dogs as welcome at Lancer Environmental Park (on leash). For the rest, check the signs at the trailhead.

Where can I bike in La Crescent?

9.7 miles of bike routes are on the map: 7.2 of painted or protected lanes, 2.2 of off-road paths and 0.3 of shoulders and shared lanes.

Is there public land near La Crescent?

9,417 acres of parks and open public land lie inside La Crescent or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 244 of them inside the city line.

How much outdoors does La Crescent have?

Ahead of 98% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #6 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 La Crescent neighbors.

Town Square →
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 →