Photo: McGhiever · CC BY-SA 4.0Few parks or trails are on the map in Nisswa
8% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 4 acres are parks and preserves, 2.0 per 1,000 residents. 0.7 miles of mapped trail cross Nisswa, 0.1 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 12% of U.S. towns. What drives it
How much outdoors does Nisswa have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Nisswa is ahead of 12% of U.S. towns. All four inputs are below most U.S. towns; conserved land comes closest.
Water is 41% of Nisswa’s area (8 of 18 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 1%.
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.
100 conserved acres
2% of Nisswa’s land. Water is left out: Nisswa has 10.8 square miles of land and 7.6 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Nisswa’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miscellaneous State Resource Management Area | State natural resources | 82 | Open |
| Hubert Lake State Aquatic Management Area (Crow Wing) State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 18 | Restricted |
7 places to go in Nisswa
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
2 beaches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
2 playgrounds without a name on the map.
2 boat launches without a name on the map.
1 campground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
10 lakes & rivers
8.4 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.
2 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
The walking year in Nisswa
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 | 66 | 76 | 80 | 78 | 69 | 54 | 38 | 24 |
| Rain (in) | 0.7 | 0.7 | 1.2 | 2.2 | 3.4 | 4.3 | 4.4 | 3.4 | 2.9 | 2.7 | 1.2 | 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 Nisswa →
Nisswa and its neighbors
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nisswa | 2% | 0.1 | 2 | 8% | D |
| Lake Edward Township | 6% | 0.2 | 2 | 10% | C |
| Lake Shore | 13% | under 0.1 | 75 | 8% | C+ |
| Pequot Lakes | 4% | 0.7 | 58 | 56% | B+ |
| Loon Lake 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 Nisswa
How much of Nisswa is conserved land?
2% 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 Nisswa’s trails?
Nisswa Lake Park doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Nisswa?
8.4 miles of bike routes are on the map: 8.4 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Nisswa?
17,201 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Nisswa or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 84 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Nisswa have?
Ahead of 12% 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 Nisswa 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 →