Clifton E. French Regional Park
Managed by Three Rivers Park District
316 acres6.6 mi of trail
Meadow TrailSkyline TrailLakeview TrailMedicine Trail+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
AOutdoors
Outdoors in Plymouth
11% of Plymouth’s land is conserved, and virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park. 11% of Plymouth’s land is conserved, about 2,277 acres. The biggest trail networks: Clifton E. French Regional Park (6.6 mi), Elm Creek Woods (1.8 mi), Eagle Lake Regional Park (1.4 mi).
Ahead of 90% of U.S. towns · #55 of 274 in Minnesota. What drives it
Conserved land
11%
2,277 acres · of 32.7 sq mi of land
Trails
19 mi
0.6 per sq mi of land
Park land
2,261 ac
29 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
167 mi
166 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
20
3 beaches · 7 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Plymouth?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Plymouth have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Plymouth is ahead of 90% of U.S. towns, #55 of 274 in Minnesota. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of residents near a park ranks highest, trail miles lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Plymouth’s overall grade.
Conserved land11% of the land · typical MN town 5% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.6 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (19 mi) · MN 0.5 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land29 acres of park per 1,000 residents (2,261 acres) · MN 24 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to homeVirtually all residents within a half mile of a park · MN 95% · U.S. 72%A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 90%
LessMore
Minnesota towns of 2,500+ (274)Ahead of 80%
Water is 7% of Plymouth’s area (3 of 35 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 10%.
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 Clifton E. French Regional Park, with 6.6 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Eagle Lake Regional Park
Park
143 acres1.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Shiloh Park
Park
9 acres0.6 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Sunrise Park
Park
14 acres0.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Hilde Performance Center
Park
13 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 49 parks & preserves
Clifton E. French Regional Park316 acres · 6.6 mi of trail · Three Rivers Park District
DirectionsElm Creek Woods56 acres · 1.8 mi of trail
DirectionsEagle Lake Regional Park143 acres · 1.4 mi of trail
DirectionsElm Creek Playfields36 acres · 0.7 mi of trail
DirectionsShiloh Park9 acres · 0.6 mi of trail
The Meadows Playfield17 acres · 0.5 mi of trail
DirectionsSunrise Park14 acres · 0.5 mi of trail
Hilde Performance Center13 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsPlymouth Creek Park72 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsLake Camelot Park55 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsSchmidt Woods Park6 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
Millennium Garden3 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsZachary Playfield43 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsThree Ponds42 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
West Medicine Lake Park16 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsHeritage Park8 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsTimber Shores57 acres
DirectionsPlymouth Creek Playfield41 acres
DirectionsMaple Creek Park27 acres
Parkers Lake Playfields26 acres
DirectionsParkers Lake Park24 acres
DirectionsBass Lake Park20 acres
DirectionsMission Hills Park19 acres
DirectionsSwan Lake Park16 acres
DirectionsPlymouth Creek Center and Fieldhouse14 acres
DirectionsEast Medicine Lake Park14 acres
DirectionsOakwood Community Playfield12 acres
DirectionsGreenwood Park11 acres
DirectionsPrairie Ponds Park11 acres
DirectionsLaCompte Green Playfield10 acres
Saint Mary's Park10 acres
DirectionsFazendin Park10 acres
Schmidt Lake Park7 acres
Turtle Lake Park7 acres
The Meadows Park6 acres · City of Plymouth Parks and Recreation
DirectionsImperial Hills Park5 acres
Green Oaks Park5 acres
Green Tree Island Park4 acres
Reserve Park4 acres
Four Seasons-Meadow4 acres
Northwest Greenway Pavilion4 acres
DirectionsAspen Ridge Park3 acres
DirectionsSouth Shore Park3 acres
Circle Park3 acres
Queensland Park2 acres
Northwest Greenway Challenge Course2 acres
DirectionsKilmer Park2 acres
DirectionsGateway Park1 acres
Amber Woods Park1 acres
Who protects it
2,277 conserved acres
11% of Plymouth’s land. Water is left out: Plymouth has 32.7 square miles of land and 2.6 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Plymouth’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city2,401 ac
Regional agency471 ac
County16 ac
Local Park · 2,570 acLocal Recreation Area · 162 acLocal Conservation Area · 156 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northwest Greenway Local Park | Town or city | 925 | Open |
| Clifton E. French Local Park | Regional agency | 336 | Open |
| Eagle Lake Local Park | Regional agency | 135 | Open |
| Plymouth Creek Local Park | Town or city | 94 | Open |
| Maple Creek Local Park | Town or city | 90 | Open |
| Nature Canyon Local Park | Town or city | 71 | Open |
| West Medicine Lake Local Park | Town or city | 69 | Open |
| Elm Creek Woods Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 57 | Open |
| Timber Shores Local Park | Town or city | 57 | Open |
| Lake Camelot Local Park | Town or city | 46 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
101 places to go in Plymouth
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Plymouth
French Park BeachIn Clifton E. French Regional Park
DirectionsPlus 2 beaches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Swimming spots in Plymouth
2 swimming spots without a name on the map.
Playgrounds in Plymouth
Creekside Hills Park
Directions79 playgrounds are on OpenStreetMap in all; the list shows named ones from the first 30.
Dog parks in Plymouth
Boat launches in Plymouth
7 boat launches without a name on the map.
Scenic views in Plymouth
2 scenic views without a name on the map.
Picnic areas in Plymouth
Shady RidgeIn Clifton E. French Regional Park
DirectionsPlus 2 picnic areas without a name on the map.
Disc golf in Plymouth
Plymouth Woods Disc Golf CourseIn Plymouth Creek Playfield
DirectionsZachary field disc golfIn Zachary Playfield
DirectionsTrails & water
6 named trails and 20 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 10.1 mi
Meadow Trail0.6 mi
Nature Canyon Park Trail0.5 mi
Skyline Trail0.5 mi
Lakeview Trail0.3 mi
Medicine Trail0.3 mi
Lagoon Trail0.3 mi
Biking & sports
167 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
166 mi
off-road bike paths
0.7 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
68Tennis
50Baseball
37Soccer
33Basketball
7Football
6Pickleball
6Beach volleyball
5Tracks
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The walking year in Plymouth
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 | 27 |
| Rain (in) | 0.7 | 0.8 | 1.6 | 3.0 | 4.2 | 4.7 | 4.2 | 4.4 | 3.4 | 2.7 | 1.5 | 1.0 |
January is the driest month (0.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 4.7 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Plymouth →
Next door
Plymouth and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Minnetonka27 miGolden Valley22 miMedina22 miMaple Grove21 miPlymouth19 miNew Hope1.5 miWayzata1.3 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plymouth | 11% | 0.6 | 29 | 99%+ | A |
| Maple Grove | 10% | 0.6 | 36 | 94% | A |
| Medina | 19% | 0.9 | 418 | 88% | A+ |
| Minnetonka | 7% | 1.0 | 25 | 92% | A |
| Wayzata | 4% | 0.4 | 18 | 96% | B+ |
| New Hope | 5% | 0.3 | 9 | 99%+ | B+ |
| Golden Valley | 17% | 2.2 | 52 | 99%+ | A+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Plymouth
Where can I hike in Plymouth?
The longest trail networks: Clifton E. French Regional Park, 6.6 miles; Elm Creek Woods, 1.8 miles; Eagle Lake Regional Park, 1.4 miles; Elm Creek Playfields, 0.7 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Plymouth is conserved land?
11% 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 Plymouth’s trails?
Clifton E. French Regional Park and Elm Creek Woods don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Plymouth?
167 miles of bike routes are on the map: 166 of off-road paths and 0.7 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Plymouth?
36,733 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Plymouth or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 2,261 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Plymouth have?
Ahead of 90% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #55 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 Plymouth 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 →