West Recreation Area
Park
20 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Bobak Ha'Eri · CC BY 3.0B−Outdoors
Outdoors in North Oaks
North Oaks has 26 miles of mapped trails, 3.7 for every square mile of land
70% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 51 acres are parks and preserves, 9.8 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 51% of U.S. towns · #208 of 274 in Minnesota. What drives it
Conserved land
under 1%
0 acres · of 6.9 sq mi of land
Trails
26 mi
3.7 per sq mi of land
Park land
51 ac
9.8 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
70%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
11 mi
11 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
6
What kind of outdoors town is North Oaks?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does North Oaks have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, North Oaks is ahead of 51% of U.S. towns, #208 of 274 in Minnesota. Trail miles hold the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
B−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of North Oaks’ overall grade.
Conserved landunder 1% of the land · typical MN town 5% · U.S. 4%DTrails3.7 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (26 mi) · MN 0.5 · U.S. 0.4A+Park land9.8 acres of park per 1,000 residents (51 acres) · MN 24 · U.S. 13B−Parks 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 51%
LessMore
Minnesota towns of 2,500+ (274)Ahead of 24%
Water is 20% of North Oaks’ area (2 of 9 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read under 1%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C 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 West Recreation Area, with 0.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Rapp Farm Park
Park
1 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Things to do
7 places to go in North Oaks
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in North Oaks
7 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
1 named trail and 6 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 1.8 mi
Pleasant Lake Trail0.6 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
11 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
11 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
17Tennis
10Pickleball
9Soccer
7Basketball
6Baseball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
When to get out
The walking year in North Oaks
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 | 13.4 | 14.8 | 15.6 | 15.3 | 14.1 | 12.5 | 10.9 | 9.5 | 8.8 |
| High (°F) | 22 | 28 | 41 | 56 | 68 | 78 | 82 | 80 | 72 | 57 | 41 | 28 |
| Rain (in) | 0.8 | 0.8 | 1.6 | 2.9 | 4.2 | 4.6 | 4.2 | 4.5 | 3.3 | 2.9 | 1.6 | 1.1 |
January is the driest month (0.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 4.6 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in North Oaks →
Next door
North Oaks and its neighbors
North Oaks has the most mapped trails of the 5 towns around it. 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 Oaks | under 1% | 3.7 | 10 | 70% | B− |
| White Bear Township | 32% | 3.3 | 162 | 99%+ | A+ |
| Shoreview | 24% | 0.5 | 65 | 98% | A |
| Vadnais Heights | 32% | 0.4 | 116 | 99% | A+ |
| Lino Lakes | 2% | 0.6 | 15 | 89% | B |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in North Oaks
Where can I hike in North Oaks?
The longest trail networks: West Recreation Area, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of North Oaks is conserved land?
under 1% 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 Oaks’ trails?
West Recreation Area and Southpointe Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in North Oaks?
11 miles of bike routes are on the map: 11 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near North Oaks?
21,824 acres of parks and open public land lie inside North Oaks or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 51 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does North Oaks have?
Ahead of 51% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #208 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 Oaks 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 →