Superior National Forest
Managed by United States Forest Service
3,211 acres0.7 mi of trail
Laurentian Snowmobile Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Mountain Iron
13% of Mountain Iron’s land is conserved: 5,498 acres
The biggest trail networks: Superior National Forest (0.7 mi). 42 miles of mapped trail cross Mountain Iron, 0.6 per square mile of land. 55 acres are parks and preserves, 19 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 77% of U.S. towns · #124 of 274 in Minnesota. What drives it
Conserved land
13%
5,498 acres · of 68.1 sq mi of land
Trails
42 mi
0.6 per sq mi of land
Park land
55 ac
19 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
70%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
8.4 mi
0.8 mi lanes · 7.6 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
13
1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Mountain Iron?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Mountain Iron have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Mountain Iron is ahead of 77% of U.S. towns, #124 of 274 in Minnesota. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; conserved land ranks highest, the share of residents near a park lowest.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Mountain Iron’s overall grade.
Conserved land13% of the land · typical MN town 5% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.6 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (42 mi) · MN 0.5 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land19 acres of park per 1,000 residents (55 acres) · MN 24 · U.S. 13BParks close to home70% 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 77%
LessMore
Minnesota towns of 2,500+ (274)Ahead of 55%
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 Superior National Forest, with 0.7 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
South Grove Recreation Complex
Managed by City of Mountain Iron
10 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Locomotive Park
Park
1 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 5 parks & preserves
Superior National Forest3,211 acres · 0.7 mi of trail · United States Forest Service
Locomotive Park1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
South Grove Recreation Complex10 acres · City of Mountain Iron
West Virginia Park2 acres
DirectionsSouth Grove Inner Park1 acres · City of Mountain Iron
Who protects it
5,498 conserved acres
13% of Mountain Iron’s land. Who manages Mountain Iron’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
U.S. Forest Service3,211 ac
State natural resources2,253 ac
Town or city53 ac
State fish & wildlife4 ac
Private owners1 ac
National Forest · 3,211 acState Resource Management Area · 2,253 acLocal Park · 42 acLocal Recreation Area · 13 acState Conservation Area · 4 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Superior National Forest National Forest | U.S. Forest Service | 3,211 | Open |
| Miscellaneous State Resource Management Area | State natural resources | 2,253 | Open |
| West Two Rivers Park Local Park | Town or city | 20 | Open |
| Wolf Park Local Park | Town or city | 13 | Open |
| South Grove Recreation Complex Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 13 | Open |
| Kenross Creek State Aquatic Management Area (St. Louis) State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 4 | Restricted |
| Parkville Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| West Virginia Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| South Grove Inner Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
| Downtown Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
2 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
11 places to go in Mountain Iron
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Mountain Iron
8 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Mountain Iron
West Two Rivers public water access
DirectionsScenic views in Mountain Iron
1 scenic view without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Campgrounds in Mountain Iron
West Two Rivers CampgroundCity of Mountain Iron
DirectionsTrails & water
2 named trails and 13 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 2.5 mi
Laurentian Snowmobile Trail1.6 mi
North 16th Avenue West0.2 mi
Biking & sports
8.4 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.8 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
7.6 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
2Football
2Baseball
2Basketball
2Soccer
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The walking year in Mountain Iron
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) | 8.8 | 10.2 | 11.8 | 13.6 | 15.1 | 15.9 | 15.6 | 14.2 | 12.5 | 10.7 | 9.2 | 8.5 |
| High (°F) | 17 | 24 | 37 | 51 | 65 | 74 | 78 | 76 | 67 | 52 | 35 | 22 |
| Rain (in) | 0.8 | 0.7 | 1.1 | 1.8 | 3.0 | 4.2 | 3.9 | 3.4 | 3.5 | 2.6 | 1.5 | 1.0 |
February is the driest month (0.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 78 °F). 4.2 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Mountain Iron →
Next door
Mountain Iron and its neighbors
Mountain Iron has the most mapped trails of the 6 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Mountain Iron42 miWuori Township31 miVirginia12 miGreat Scott Township12 miEveleth6.7 miClinton Township1.5 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mountain Iron | 13% | 0.6 | 19 | 70% | A− |
| Virginia | 12% | 0.6 | 20 | 88% | A− |
| Great Scott Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Clinton Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Wuori Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Eveleth | 5% | 1.1 | 11 | 95% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Mountain Iron
Where can I hike in Mountain Iron?
The longest trail networks: Superior National Forest, 0.7 miles; Locomotive Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Mountain Iron is conserved land?
13% 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 Mountain Iron’s trails?
Superior National Forest and South Grove Recreation Complex don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Mountain Iron?
8.4 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.8 of painted or protected lanes and 7.6 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Mountain Iron?
136,022 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Mountain Iron or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 5,496 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Mountain Iron have?
Ahead of 77% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #124 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 Mountain Iron 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 →