Bearman Wildlife Management Area
Managed by Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
38 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: 123dieinafire · Public domainC−Outdoors
Outdoors in Nowthen
Nowthen has 134 acres of parks, 29 for every 1,000 residents
12% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 20% of U.S. towns · #261 of 274 in Minnesota. What drives it
Conserved land
1%
205 acres · of 33.7 sq mi of land
Trails
0.0 mi
0.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
134 ac
29 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
12%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.8 mi
0.8 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
11
1 beach · 1 boat launch
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Nowthen have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Nowthen is ahead of 20% of U.S. towns, #261 of 274 in Minnesota. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
C−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Nowthen’s overall grade.
Conserved land1% of the land · typical MN town 5% · U.S. 4%CTrails0.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (0 mi) · MN 0.5 · U.S. 0.4DPark land29 acres of park per 1,000 residents (134 acres) · MN 24 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home12% of residents within a half mile of a park · MN 95% · U.S. 72%C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 20%
LessMore
Minnesota towns of 2,500+ (274)Ahead of 5%
NoteFew parks or trails are mapped in Nowthen. 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 C. 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.
Who protects it
205 conserved acres
1% of Nowthen’s land. Who manages Nowthen’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city128 ac
State natural resources40 ac
State fish & wildlife38 ac
Local Park · 87 acLocal Conservation Area · 41 acState Resource Management Area · 40 acState Conservation Area · 38 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Twin Lakes Park Local Park | Town or city | 73 | Open |
| Morton Park Preserve Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 41 | Open |
| Miscellaneous State Resource Management Area | State natural resources | 40 | Open |
| Bearman State Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 38 | Restricted |
| Nowthen Memorial Park Local Park | Town or city | 14 | Open |
Things to do
4 places to go in Nowthen
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Nowthen
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Nowthen
1 playground without a name on the map.
Boat launches in Nowthen
1 boat launch without a name on the map.
Campgrounds in Nowthen
Camping
DirectionsTrails & water
11 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.8 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.8 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
2Baseball
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). The map also marks 1 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Sparre BarnBuilding · listed 1980
About itWhen to get out
The walking year in Nowthen
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 | 14.9 | 15.6 | 15.3 | 14.1 | 12.5 | 10.8 | 9.4 | 8.7 |
| High (°F) | 22 | 27 | 40 | 55 | 68 | 78 | 82 | 79 | 71 | 57 | 40 | 27 |
| Rain (in) | 0.7 | 0.8 | 1.5 | 2.8 | 4.2 | 4.5 | 4.3 | 4.1 | 3.3 | 2.8 | 1.5 | 1.0 |
January is the driest month (0.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 4.5 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Nowthen →
Next door
Nowthen 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nowthen | 1% | under 0.1 | 29 | 12% | C− |
| St. Francis | 6% | 0.1 | 25 | 85% | B |
| Oak Grove | 6% | 0.3 | 113 | 86% | A− |
| Ramsey | 6% | 0.4 | 43 | 93% | A− |
| Elk River | 4% | 0.4 | 42 | 88% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Nowthen
How much of Nowthen is conserved land?
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 Nowthen’s trails?
Bearman Wildlife Management Area doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Nowthen?
0.8 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.8 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Nowthen?
19,755 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Nowthen or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 174 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Nowthen have?
Ahead of 20% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #261 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 Nowthen 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 →