Prairie Park
Park
16 acres0.9 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Grand Army of the Republic Hall · Photo: Elkman · CC BY-SA 3.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Litchfield
7% of Litchfield’s land is conserved, and 98% of residents live within a half mile of a park
The biggest trail networks: Prairie Park (0.9 mi). 200 acres are parks and preserves, 30 per 1,000 residents. 7% of Litchfield’s land is conserved, about 195 acres.
Ahead of 80% of U.S. towns · #105 of 274 in Minnesota. What drives it
Conserved land
7%
195 acres · of 4.5 sq mi of land
Trails
1.4 mi
0.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
200 ac
30 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
98%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.5 mi
1.5 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Litchfield?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Litchfield have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Litchfield is ahead of 80% of U.S. towns, #105 of 274 in Minnesota. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of residents near a park ranks highest, trail miles lowest.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Litchfield’s overall grade.
Conserved land7% of the land · typical MN town 5% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · MN 0.5 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land30 acres of park per 1,000 residents (200 acres) · MN 24 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home98% 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 80%
LessMore
Minnesota towns of 2,500+ (274)Ahead of 62%
Water is 18% of Litchfield’s area (1 of 5 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
The longest trail network is Prairie Park, with 0.9 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
South Park
Park
3 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Northside Park
Park
3 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 6 parks & preserves
Prairie Park16 acres · 0.9 mi of trail
South Park3 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Litchfield Sports Park52 acres
DirectionsNorthside Park3 acres
Central Park3 acres
Becker Park2 acres
Who protects it
195 conserved acres
7% of Litchfield’s land. Water is left out: Litchfield has 4.5 square miles of land and 1.0 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Litchfield’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city177 ac
State fish & wildlife18 ac
Local Park · 149 acLocal Recreation Area · 24 acState Conservation Area · 18 acLocal Other or Unknown · 4 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prairie Park Local Park | Town or city | 120 | Open |
| Optimist Baseball Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 24 | Open |
| Ripley Lake State Aquatic Management Area (Meeker) State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 18 | Restricted |
| Unknown Park Local Park | Town or city | 7 | Open |
| Legion Memorial Park Local Park | Town or city | 7 | Open |
| Anderson Gardens Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Laek Ripley Campground Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| South Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Northside Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Central Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
1 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
8 places to go in Litchfield
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Litchfield
swing setIn Central Park
DirectionsPlus 5 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Litchfield
1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Campgrounds in Litchfield
Lake Ripley County ParkFee
DirectionsTrails & water
1 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
1.5 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.5 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
14Tennis
6Baseball
4Pickleball
3Softball
2Football
2Basketball
1Soccer
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →5 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 1 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The walking year in Litchfield
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) | 21 | 26 | 39 | 55 | 68 | 78 | 82 | 79 | 72 | 57 | 40 | 27 |
| Rain (in) | 0.7 | 0.8 | 1.4 | 2.5 | 3.5 | 4.4 | 3.7 | 3.8 | 3.0 | 2.3 | 1.3 | 0.9 |
January is the driest month (0.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 4.4 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Litchfield →
Next door
Litchfield and its neighbors
Litchfield has the second most mapped trails of the 3 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Litchfield | 7% | 0.3 | 30 | 98% | A− |
| Litchfield Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Darwin 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 Litchfield
Where can I hike in Litchfield?
The longest trail networks: Prairie Park, 0.9 miles; South Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Litchfield is conserved land?
7% 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 Litchfield’s trails?
Prairie Park and Litchfield Sports Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Litchfield?
1.5 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.5 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Litchfield?
976 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Litchfield or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 200 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Litchfield have?
Ahead of 80% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #105 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 Litchfield 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 →