Ripple River Wildlife Management Area, West Unit
Managed by Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
647 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Bethelhem Lutheran Church · Photo: Jonathunder · CC BY-SA 3.0DOutdoors
Outdoors in Nordland Township
Few parks or trails are on the map in Nordland Township
0.6 miles of mapped trail cross Nordland Township. 3% of Nordland Township’s land is conserved, about 550 acres.
Ahead of 8% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
3%
550 acres · of 31.3 sq mi of land
Trails
0.6 mi
0.0 per sq mi of land
Near a park
under 1%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
23
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Nordland Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Nordland Township is ahead of 8% of U.S. towns. All four inputs are below most U.S. towns; conserved land comes closest.
D
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Nordland Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land3% 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 land0.0 acres of park per 1,000 residents (0 acres) · MN 24 · U.S. 13DParks close to home0% 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 8%
LessMore
Water is 15% of Nordland Township’s area (5 of 37 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 2%.
NoteFew parks or trails are mapped in Nordland Township. OpenStreetMap is mapped by volunteers and coverage varies from town to town, so a town with unmapped parks scores low on them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from D− to D. 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.
Ripple River Wildlife Management Area, East Unit
Managed by Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
40 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
550 conserved acres
3% of Nordland Township’s land. Water is left out: Nordland Township has 31.3 square miles of land and 5.4 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Nordland Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources534 ac
Other state land16 ac
State Resource Management Area · 534 acConservation Easement · 16 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 16 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miscellaneous State Resource Management Area | State natural resources | 534 | Open |
Trails & water
23 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Carrol Heft ReservoirreservoirEdquist LakeElm Island LakeLake FourLinde LakeLingroth LakeLittle Ripple LakeLittle Turtle LakeLone LakelakeMonson LakeNord LakeRaspberry LakeRipple LakeSection Ten LakelakeSection Twelve LakeSection Twenty-Five LakeSisabagamah LakelakeSixteen LakeSjodin LakeSoderman LakesSweetman LakeTurtle LakeRipple River
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Bethelhem Lutheran ChurchBuilding · listed 1982
About itWhen to get out
The walking year in Nordland 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) | 9.0 | 10.3 | 11.8 | 13.5 | 15.0 | 15.8 | 15.5 | 14.2 | 12.5 | 10.8 | 9.3 | 8.6 |
| High (°F) | 19 | 26 | 38 | 53 | 66 | 75 | 79 | 77 | 69 | 54 | 38 | 25 |
| Rain (in) | 0.8 | 0.8 | 1.4 | 2.3 | 3.5 | 4.5 | 4.6 | 3.6 | 3.1 | 2.9 | 1.5 | 1.0 |
January is the driest month (0.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 79 °F). 4.6 inches fall in July, the wettest month. The climate in Nordland Township →
Next door
Nordland Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Farm Island Township3.8 miWealthwood Township1.5 miGlen Township1.3 miSpencer Township1.3 miNordland Township0.6 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nordland Township | 3% | under 0.1 | under 1 | under 1% | D |
| Farm Island Township | 4% | 0.1 | under 1 | under 1% | D |
| Glen Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Wealthwood Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Spencer 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 Nordland Township
How much of Nordland Township is conserved land?
3% 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 Nordland Township’s trails?
Ripple River Wildlife Management Area, West Unit and Ripple River Wildlife Management Area, East Unit don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Nordland Township?
25,388 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Nordland Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 459 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Nordland Township have?
Ahead of 8% 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 Nordland 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 →