Photo: McGhiever · CC BY-SA 3.0Ortonville has 12 acres of parks, 6.0 for every 1,000 residents
0.4 miles of mapped trail cross Ortonville, 0.1 per square mile of land. 73% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 27% of U.S. towns. What drives it
What kind of outdoors town is Ortonville?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
How much outdoors does Ortonville have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Ortonville is ahead of 27% of U.S. towns. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
Water is 14% of Ortonville’s area (1 of 5 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read under 1%.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Pick a walk
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Peninsula Park
12 conserved acres
under 1% of Ortonville’s land. Water is left out: Ortonville has 4.2 square miles of land and 0.7 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Ortonville’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minnesota River Headwaters State Aquatic Management Area (Big Stone) State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 12 | Restricted |
19 places to go in Ortonville
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
7 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
4 boat launches without a name on the map.
6 fishing spots without a name on the map.
1 lakes & rivers
5.8 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
3 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
September is the best month for walking in Ortonville
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 | 10.9 | 9.4 | 8.7 |
| High (°F) | 22 | 27 | 39 | 55 | 69 | 79 | 83 | 81 | 73 | 58 | 41 | 27 |
| Rain (in) | 0.6 | 0.6 | 1.1 | 2.3 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 3.8 | 3.1 | 2.6 | 2.3 | 1.0 | 0.7 |
February is the driest month (0.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 4.0 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Ortonville →
Ortonville 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ortonville | under 1% | 0.1 | 6 | 73% | C |
| Ortonville Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Big Stone 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 Ortonville
How much of Ortonville 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 Ortonville’s trails?
Nielson Park and Central Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Ortonville?
5.8 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.4 of painted or protected lanes, 2.6 of off-road paths and 2.8 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Ortonville?
1,143 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Ortonville or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 12 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Ortonville have?
Ahead of 27% 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 Ortonville neighbors.
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 →