Oakdale Nature Preserve
Park
210 acres2.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
AOutdoors
Outdoors in Oakdale
99% of residents live within a half mile of a park in Oakdale
13 miles of mapped trail cross Oakdale, 1.2 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Oakdale Nature Preserve (2.3 mi). 561 acres are parks and preserves, 20 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 86% of U.S. towns · #72 of 274 in Minnesota. What drives it
Conserved land
4%
319 acres · of 11.0 sq mi of land
Trails
13 mi
1.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
561 ac
20 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
40 mi
35 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
3
1 beach
What kind of outdoors town is Oakdale?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Oakdale have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Oakdale is ahead of 86% of U.S. towns, #72 of 274 in Minnesota. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of residents near a park ranks highest, conserved land lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Oakdale’s overall grade.
Conserved land4% of the land · typical MN town 5% · U.S. 4%BTrails1.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (13 mi) · MN 0.5 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land20 acres of park per 1,000 residents (561 acres) · MN 24 · U.S. 13BParks close to home99% of residents within a half mile of a park · MN 95% · U.S. 72%A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 86%
LessMore
Minnesota towns of 2,500+ (274)Ahead of 74%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from A− 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 Oakdale Nature Preserve, with 2.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Richard Walton Park
Managed by City of Oakdale
38 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
All 19 parks & preserves
Oakdale Nature Preserve210 acres · 2.3 mi of trail
DirectionsGoose Pond Park11 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsPowerline Park50 acres
DirectionsRichard Walton Park38 acres · City of Oakdale
DirectionsNorthdale Park26 acres · City of Oakdale
DirectionsEberle Park24 acres
DirectionsTanners Lake Park15 acres
DirectionsGarden Boulevard Park14 acres
Meadows Park9 acres · City of Oakdale
Eastside Park7 acres
DirectionsEagle Ridge Park7 acres · City of Oakdale
Oakfield Park6 acres · City of Oakdale
Bethke Park4 acres
Bark Park4 acres · City of Oakdale
Tilsen Park3 acres · City of Oakdale
Armstrong Park3 acres · City of Oakdale
Furlong Park2 acres · City of Oakdale
Guthrie Park1 acres
Tilsen II Park1 acres
Who protects it
319 conserved acres
4% of Oakdale’s land. Who manages Oakdale’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city317 ac
County3 ac
Local Park · 317 acRecreation or Education Easement · 3 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1 acre is a conservation easement, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oakdale Nature Preserve Park Local Park | Town or city | 110 | Open |
| Richard Walton Memorial Park Local Park | Town or city | 82 | Open |
| Eberle Park Local Park | Town or city | 21 | Open |
| Tanner Lake Park Local Park | Town or city | 17 | Open |
| Northdale Park Local Park | Town or city | 15 | Open |
| Goosepond Park Local Park | Town or city | 11 | Open |
| Eastside Park Local Park | Town or city | 9 | Open |
| Meadows Park Local Park | Town or city | 8 | Open |
| Garden Boulevard Park Local Park | Town or city | 8 | Open |
| Goodwin Park Local Park | Town or city | 7 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
15 places to go in Oakdale
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Oakdale
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Oakdale
14 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
40 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
35 mi
off-road bike paths
5.2 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
25Baseball
17Pickleball
16Tennis
11Basketball
7Soccer
3Softball
2Beach volleyball
2Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The walking year in Oakdale
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 | 55 | 68 | 78 | 82 | 79 | 71 | 57 | 41 | 27 |
| Rain (in) | 0.8 | 0.8 | 1.7 | 3.0 | 4.2 | 4.8 | 4.3 | 4.7 | 3.4 | 2.8 | 1.6 | 1.2 |
January is the driest month (0.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 4.8 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Oakdale →
Next door
Oakdale and its neighbors
Oakdale has the second most mapped trails of the 4 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Questions about parks and trails in Oakdale
Where can I hike in Oakdale?
The longest trail networks: Oakdale Nature Preserve, 2.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Oakdale is conserved land?
4% 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 Oakdale’s trails?
Oakdale Nature Preserve and Powerline Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Oakdale?
40 miles of bike routes are on the map: 35 of off-road paths and 5.2 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Oakdale?
31,228 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Oakdale or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 561 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Oakdale have?
Ahead of 86% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #72 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 Oakdale 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 →