Baker Park Reserve
Park
2,774 acres11.9 mi of trail
Timber TrailHill Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
A+Outdoors
Outdoors in Medina
Medina has 2,912 acres of parks, 418 for every 1,000 residents
19% of Medina’s land is conserved, about 3,067 acres. 22 miles of mapped trail cross Medina, 0.9 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Baker Park Reserve (11.9 mi), Wolsfeld Woods SNA (3.7 mi).
Ahead of 95% of U.S. towns · #23 of 274 in Minnesota. What drives it
Conserved land
19%
3,067 acres · of 25.6 sq mi of land
Trails
22 mi
0.9 per sq mi of land
Park land
2,912 ac
418 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
88%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
32 mi
27 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
15
1 beach · 1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Medina?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Medina have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Medina is ahead of 95% of U.S. towns, #23 of 274 in Minnesota. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; park acres per resident rank highest, the share of residents near a park lowest.
A+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Medina’s overall grade.
Conserved land19% of the land · typical MN town 5% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.9 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (22 mi) · MN 0.5 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land418 acres of park per 1,000 residents (2,912 acres) · MN 24 · U.S. 13AParks close to home88% of residents within a half mile of a park · MN 95% · U.S. 72%B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 95%
LessMore
Minnesota towns of 2,500+ (274)Ahead of 92%
Water is 6% of Medina’s area (2 of 27 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 18%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from A 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 Baker Park Reserve, with 11.9 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Wolsfeld Woods SNA
Managed by Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
215 acres3.7 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 8 parks & preserves
Baker Park Reserve2,774 acres · 11.9 mi of trail
DirectionsWolsfeld Woods SNA215 acres · 3.7 mi of trail · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
Hamel Legion Park38 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsRainwater Nature Area7 acres
Hunter Lions Park5 acres
DirectionsMaple Park3 acres
DirectionsMedina Memorial Park3 acres
Holy Name Park2 acres
Who protects it
3,067 conserved acres
19% of Medina’s land. Water is left out: Medina has 25.6 square miles of land and 1.6 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Medina’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Regional agency2,705 ac
State natural resources177 ac
Town or city155 ac
County16 ac
Other state land13 ac
Local Conservation Area · 2,811 acState Conservation Area · 177 acLocal Park · 65 acConservation Easement · 13 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 13 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Morris T Baker Park Reserve Local Conservation Area | Regional agency | 2,705 | Open |
| Wolsfeld Woods State Scientific and Natural Area State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 177 | Restricted |
| Medina Lake Preserve Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 70 | Open |
| Hamel Legion Park Local Park | Town or city | 38 | Open |
| Tomann Preserve Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 16 | Open |
| Open Space Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 15 | Open |
| The Park At The Fields Of Medina Local Park | County | 10 | Open |
| Hunter Lions Park Local Park | Town or city | 7 | Open |
| Rainwater Nature Area Local Conservation Area | County | 6 | Open |
| Holy Name Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
3 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
24 places to go in Medina
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Medina
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Medina
11 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Medina
1 boat launch without a name on the map.
Picnic areas in Medina
8 picnic areas without a name on the map.
Campgrounds in Medina
Baker Park Reserve CampgroundFee · In Baker Park Reserve
DirectionsHalfmoon Group CampsIn Baker Park Reserve
DirectionsOak Knoll Group CampIn Baker Park Reserve
DirectionsTrails & water
2 named trails and 15 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 3.2 miHorses · 5.2 miUnpaved · 12.1 mi
Timber Trail1.0 mi
Hill Trail1.0 mi
Biking & sports
32 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
27 mi
off-road bike paths
5.6 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
10Baseball
8Tennis
4Beach volleyball
3Basketball
2Equestrian
1Pickleball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The walking year in Medina
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) | 22 | 27 | 41 | 56 | 68 | 78 | 82 | 79 | 72 | 57 | 41 | 27 |
| Rain (in) | 0.7 | 0.8 | 1.5 | 3.0 | 4.2 | 4.7 | 4.1 | 4.3 | 3.4 | 2.7 | 1.5 | 1.1 |
January is the driest month (0.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 4.7 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Medina →
Next door
Medina and its neighbors
Medina 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Medina | 19% | 0.9 | 418 | 88% | A+ |
| Plymouth | 11% | 0.6 | 29 | 99%+ | A |
| Orono | 7% | 0.7 | 57 | 86% | A |
| Corcoran | under 1% | under 0.1 | 17 | 32% | C− |
| Independence | 2% | 0.3 | 66 | 15% | B− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Medina
Where can I hike in Medina?
The longest trail networks: Baker Park Reserve, 11.9 miles; Wolsfeld Woods SNA, 3.7 miles; Hamel Legion Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Medina is conserved land?
19% 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 Medina’s trails?
Baker Park Reserve and Wolsfeld Woods SNA don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Medina?
32 miles of bike routes are on the map: 27 of off-road paths and 5.6 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Medina?
29,795 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Medina or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 2,912 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Medina have?
Ahead of 95% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #23 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 Medina 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 →