Rush Lake WMA
Managed by MN DNR
764 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
COutdoors
Outdoors in Nessel Township
Nessel Township has 104 acres of parks, 57 for every 1,000 residents
3% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 0.6 miles of mapped trail cross Nessel Township. 4% of Nessel Township’s land is conserved, about 881 acres.
Ahead of 33% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
4%
881 acres · of 37.4 sq mi of land
Trails
0.6 mi
0.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
104 ac
57 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
3%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
5
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Nessel Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Nessel Township is ahead of 33% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
C
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Nessel Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land4% of the land · typical MN town 5% · U.S. 4%B−Trails0.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · MN 0.5 · U.S. 0.4C−Park land57 acres of park per 1,000 residents (104 acres) · MN 24 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home3% of residents within a half mile of a park · MN 95% · U.S. 72%D
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 33%
LessMore
Water is 12% of Nessel Township’s area (5 of 43 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 3%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B−. 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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Dennis Frandsen County Park
Managed by Chisago County, Minnesota
105 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Nessel Wildlife Management Area
Managed by Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
75 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Who protects it
881 conserved acres
4% of Nessel Township’s land. Water is left out: Nessel Township has 37.4 square miles of land and 5.3 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Nessel Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State fish & wildlife729 ac
State natural resources142 ac
Other state land10 ac
State Conservation Area · 752 acState Resource Management Area · 119 acConservation Easement · 10 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 10 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rush Lake State Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 654 | Restricted |
| Miscellaneous State Resource Management Area | State natural resources | 119 | Open |
| Nessel State Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 75 | Restricted |
| Rush Lake Island State Scientific and Natural Area State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 23 | Restricted |
Trails & water
5 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
When to get out
The walking year in Nessel 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) | 9.1 | 10.3 | 11.8 | 13.5 | 14.9 | 15.7 | 15.4 | 14.1 | 12.5 | 10.8 | 9.4 | 8.7 |
| High (°F) | 22 | 27 | 40 | 55 | 68 | 77 | 81 | 79 | 71 | 57 | 40 | 27 |
| Rain (in) | 0.8 | 0.8 | 1.5 | 2.8 | 4.0 | 4.3 | 4.4 | 4.0 | 3.3 | 2.9 | 1.6 | 1.1 |
January is the driest month (0.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 81 °F). 4.4 inches fall in July, the wettest month. The climate in Nessel Township →
Next door
Nessel Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Rushseba Township4.0 miRush City1.4 miStanchfield Township0.8 miNessel Township0.6 miRoyalton Township0.3 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nessel Township | 4% | under 0.1 | 57 | 3% | C |
| Rushseba Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Royalton Township | 1% | under 0.1 | under 1 | under 1% | D |
| Stanchfield Township | under 1% | under 0.1 | under 1 | 5% | D |
| Rush City | 1% | 0.3 | 17 | 58% | C+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Nessel Township
How much of Nessel Township is conserved land?
4% 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 Nessel Township’s trails?
Rush Lake WMA and Dennis Frandsen County Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Nessel Township?
18,961 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Nessel Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 222 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Nessel Township have?
Ahead of 33% 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 Nessel Township 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 →