Minnesota and International Railroad Freight House and Shelter Shed · Photo: Elkman · CC BY-SA 3.06% of Lake Edward Township’s land is conserved: 979 acres
10% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 4 acres are parks and preserves, 1.9 per 1,000 residents. 4.8 miles of mapped trail cross Lake Edward Township, 0.2 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 25% of U.S. towns. What drives it
How much outdoors does Lake Edward Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Lake Edward Township is ahead of 25% of U.S. towns. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
Water is 30% of Lake Edward Township’s area (11 of 36 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 4%.
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.
Lake Hubert Depot
979 conserved acres
6% of Lake Edward Township’s land. Water is left out: Lake Edward Township has 25.4 square miles of land and 10.9 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Lake Edward Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 154 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miscellaneous State Resource Management Area | State natural resources | 616 | Open |
| Bertha Moody State Aquatic Management Area (Crow Wing) State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 209 | Restricted |
| Lougee-Markee State Aquatic Management Area (Crow Wing) State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 1 | Restricted |
4 places to go in Lake Edward Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
1 playground without a name on the map.
1 boat launch without a name on the map.
1 campground without a name on the map.
1 named trail and 16 lakes & rivers
6.0 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 map also marks 2 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
The walking year in Lake Edward 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 | 10.2 | 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 | 67 | 76 | 80 | 78 | 69 | 54 | 38 | 25 |
| Rain (in) | 0.7 | 0.7 | 1.3 | 2.2 | 3.5 | 4.3 | 4.4 | 3.4 | 2.9 | 2.7 | 1.3 | 0.9 |
January is the driest month (0.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 80 °F). 4.4 inches fall in July, the wettest month. The climate in Lake Edward Township →
Lake Edward Township and its neighbors
Lake Edward Township has the most mapped trails of the 5 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Edward Township | 6% | 0.2 | 2 | 10% | C |
| Pelican Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Nisswa | 2% | 0.1 | 2 | 8% | D |
| Center Township | 6% | 0.1 | under 1 | under 1% | D |
| Merrifield | — 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 Lake Edward Township
How much of Lake Edward 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 Lake Edward Township’s trails?
Merrifield Lions Park and Lake Hubert Depot don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Lake Edward Township?
6.0 miles of bike routes are on the map: 6.0 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Lake Edward Township?
18,768 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Lake Edward Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 620 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Lake Edward Township have?
Ahead of 25% 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 Lake Edward Township 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 →