Janet Johnson Memorial Wildlife Management Area
Managed by Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
756 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
B−Outdoors
Outdoors in North Branch
North Branch has 335 acres of parks, 29 for every 1,000 residents
2.3 miles of mapped trail cross North Branch, 0.1 per square mile of land. 67% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 3% of North Branch’s land is conserved, about 824 acres.
Ahead of 49% of U.S. towns · #211 of 274 in Minnesota. What drives it
Conserved land
3%
824 acres · of 37.3 sq mi of land
Trails
2.3 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
335 ac
29 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
67%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
24 mi
3.0 mi lanes · 18 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
3
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does North Branch have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, North Branch is ahead of 49% of U.S. towns, #211 of 274 in Minnesota. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
B−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of North Branch’s overall grade.
Conserved land3% of the land · typical MN town 5% · U.S. 4%B−Trails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (2 mi) · MN 0.5 · U.S. 0.4C−Park land29 acres of park per 1,000 residents (335 acres) · MN 24 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home67% 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 49%
LessMore
Minnesota towns of 2,500+ (274)Ahead of 23%
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.
Checkerboard Park
Park
51 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Harder Park
Park
24 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 8 parks & preserves
Central Park3 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsJanet Johnson Memorial Wildlife Management Area756 acres · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
Checkerboard Park51 acres
Johnson Park27 acres
DirectionsHarder Park24 acres
River Walk Park19 acres
DirectionsTower Park9 acres
DirectionsNorthwood Park8 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
824 conserved acres
3% of North Branch’s land. Who manages North Branch’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State fish & wildlife532 ac
Town or city216 ac
County76 ac
State Conservation Area · 532 acLocal Park · 266 acLocal Conservation Area · 27 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Janet Johnson Memorial State Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 532 | Restricted |
| Checkerboard County Park Local Park | County | 76 | Open |
| Harder Park Local Park | Town or city | 57 | Open |
| River Walk Park Local Park | Town or city | 55 | Open |
| Clayton Anderson Family Memorial Nature Park Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 27 | Open |
| Wood Duck Preserve Local Park | Town or city | 25 | Open |
| Roger Johnson Memorial Park Local Park | Town or city | 16 | Open |
| Wildridge Park Local Park | Town or city | 12 | Open |
| Tower Field Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| Northwoods Park Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
10 places to go in North Branch
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in North Branch
10 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
3 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
24 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
3.0 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
18 mi
off-road bike paths
3.1 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
17Baseball
10Tennis
8Pickleball
7Soccer
4Tracks
3Basketball
1Hockey rinks
1Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The walking year in North Branch
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 | 15.3 | 14.1 | 12.5 | 10.8 | 9.4 | 8.7 |
| High (°F) | 22 | 28 | 41 | 56 | 69 | 78 | 82 | 80 | 72 | 57 | 41 | 28 |
| Rain (in) | 0.8 | 0.8 | 1.5 | 2.8 | 4.1 | 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 82 °F). 4.4 inches fall in July, the wettest month. The climate in North Branch →
Next door
North Branch 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Branch | 3% | 0.1 | 29 | 67% | B− |
| North Branch Township | under 1% | under 0.1 | 1 | 4% | D− |
| Stacy | under 1% | 0.1 | under 1 | under 1% | D− |
| Sunrise Township | 12% | 0.2 | 1,744 | 24% | B+ |
| Harris | 1% | 0.1 | under 1 | under 1% | D |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in North Branch
How much of North Branch 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 North Branch’s trails?
Janet Johnson Memorial Wildlife Management Area and Checkerboard Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in North Branch?
24 miles of bike routes are on the map: 3.0 of painted or protected lanes, 18 of off-road paths and 3.1 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near North Branch?
29,135 acres of parks and open public land lie inside North Branch or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 335 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does North Branch have?
Ahead of 49% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #211 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 North Branch 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 →