Photo: 123dieinafire · Public domain

Outdoors in Ramsey

Ramsey has 1,229 acres of parks, 43 for every 1,000 residents

93% of residents live within a half mile of a park. The biggest trail networks: Rum River Central Park (3.9 mi). 6% of Ramsey’s land is conserved, about 1,178 acres.

Ahead of 81% of U.S. towns · #103 of 274 in Minnesota. What drives it

Conserved land

1,178 acres · of 28.9 sq mi of land

Trails

11 mi

0.4 per sq mi of land

Park land

1,229 ac

43 acres per 1,000 residents

Near a park

93%

of residents within ½ mile

Bike routes

66 mi

2.8 mi lanes · 63 mi paths

Lakes & rivers

3 boat launches

What kind of outdoors town is Ramsey?

Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.

Parks close to home93% of residents live within a half mile of a park.

Outdoors grade

How much outdoors does Ramsey have?

On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Ramsey is ahead of 81% of U.S. towns, #103 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 Ramsey’s overall grade.

Conserved land6% of the land · typical MN town 5% · U.S. 4%B⁺Trails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (11 mi) · MN 0.5 · U.S. 0.4B Park land43 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,229 acres) · MN 24 · U.S. 13A⁻Parks close to home93% 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 81%

LessMore

Minnesota towns of 2,500+ (274)Ahead of 63%

How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ 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 Rum River Central Park, with 3.9 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.

Rum River Central Park

Managed by Anoka County

302 acres3.9 mi of trail

Dog rules not recorded

Directionsto the parking lot

Mississippi West Regional Park

Managed by Anoka County Parks

194 acres0.2 mi of trail

Dog rules not recorded

Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗

Elmcrest Park

Managed by City of Ramsey

93 acres

Dog rules not recorded

Directionsto the parking lot

Alpine Park

Park

44 acres

Dog rules not recorded

Directionsto the parking lot

All 24 parks & preserves

Rum River Central Park302 acres · 3.9 mi of trail · Anoka County

Directions

Mississippi West Regional Park194 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · Anoka County Parks

Directions

Central Park40 acres · 0.1 mi of trail

Directions

Elmcrest Park93 acres · City of Ramsey

Directions

Alpine Park44 acres

Directions

Flintwood Terrace Park29 acres

Fox Knoll Park15 acres

River's Bend Park12 acres

Directions

Peltzer Park11 acres

Woodland Green Park8 acres

Titterud Park6 acres · City of Ramsey

Directions

Stanhope River Hills Park6 acres

Directions

North Commons Park and Community Garden5 acres

Autumn Heights Park5 acres

Directions

Traprock Commons Park4 acres

Northfork Park4 acres

Bear Park4 acres

Sunflower Ridge Park4 acres

Directions

Ford Brook Park4 acres

Directions

Hunter's Hill Park4 acres

Cedar Creek Conservation Area3 acres

Directions

Reilley West Park2 acres

Shawn Acres Park2 acres

Gorham's Sandy Acres Park1 acres

Who protects it

1,178 conserved acres

6% of Ramsey’s land. Who manages Ramsey’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.

Town or city855 ac

County300 ac

Regional agency18 ac

National Park Service6 ac

Local Park · 679 acLocal Conservation Area · 457 acLocal Recreation Area · 36 acWild and Scenic River · 6 ac

The biggest protected parcels

Parcel (PAD-US)	Managed by	Acres	Public access
Rum River Central Regional Park Local Park	County	300	Open
Oakridge Park Local Conservation Area	Town or city	186	Open
Elmcrest Park Local Park	Town or city	99	Open
Sports Haven North Park Local Conservation Area	Town or city	61	Open
Alpine Park Local Park	Town or city	57	Open
Rivers Bend Park Local Park	Town or city	49	Open
Greenland Hills East Park Local Conservation Area	Town or city	46	Open
Central Park Local Recreation Area	Town or city	36	Open
Itasca Park Local Conservation Area	Town or city	35	Open
Cottonwood Park Local Park	Town or city	26	Open

5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.

Things to do

30 places to go in Ramsey

Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.

Playgrounds in Ramsey

Emerald Pond Park Playground

Directions

Plus 22 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.

Trails & water

1 named trail and 8 lakes & rivers

Named trails

Open to bikes · 0.5 miUnpaved · 5.3 mi

Ramsey Elementary Nature Trail0.7 mi

Lakes & rivers tap for directions

Eddy Lake Emerald Pond Flintwood Lakelake Lake Itasca Sunfish Lake Thorn Lakelake Rum River Trott Brook

Biking & sports

66 miles of bike routes

Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.

2.8 mi

painted or protected bike lanes

63 mi

off-road bike paths

Courts & fields

19Soccer

18Baseball

10Tennis

4Basketball

2Softball

1Skate park

1Tracks

1Football

Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.

History along the way

1 place on the National Register

The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 3 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.

History →

District No. 28 SchoolBuilding · listed 1979

About it

When to get out

September is the best month for walking in Ramsey

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	28	41	56	68	78	82	80	72	57	41	27
Rain (in)	0.7	0.8	1.5	2.8	4.2	4.5	4.2	4.0	3.2	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 Ramsey →

Next door

Ramsey and its neighbors

Tap a town to see its outdoors.

Dayton20 mi Elk River19 mi Andover12 mi Ramsey11 mi Anoka7.1 mi Nowthen0.0 mi

Town	Conserved of land	Trail mi per sq mi	Park acres per 1,000	Near a park ½ mile	Outdoors
Ramsey	6%	0.4	43	93%	A⁻
Andover	6%	0.4	44	96%	A⁻
Anoka	10%	1.1	29	99%+	A
Dayton	22%	0.9	365	82%	A
Elk River	4%	0.4	42	88%	A⁻
Nowthen	1%	under 0.1	29	12%	C⁻

The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.

Questions about parks and trails in Ramsey

Where can I hike in Ramsey?

The longest trail networks: Rum River Central Park, 3.9 miles; Mississippi West Regional Park, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.

How much of Ramsey is conserved land?

6% 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 Ramsey’s trails?

Rum River Central Park and Mississippi West Regional Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.

Where can I bike in Ramsey?

66 miles of bike routes are on the map: 2.8 of painted or protected lanes and 63 of off-road paths.

Is there public land near Ramsey?

23,011 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Ramsey or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,235 of them inside the city line.

How much outdoors does Ramsey have?

Ahead of 81% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #103 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 Ramsey neighbors.

Town Square →

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 →

Post to Ramsey

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Ramsey has 1,229 acres of parks, 43 for every 1,000 residents

What kind of outdoors town is Ramsey?

How much outdoors does Ramsey have?

Conserved land, trails & bike routes

Pick a walk

Rum River Central Park

Mississippi West Regional Park

Elmcrest Park

Alpine Park

1,178 conserved acres

30 places to go in Ramsey

1 named trail and 8 lakes & rivers

66 miles of bike routes

1 place on the National Register

September is the best month for walking in Ramsey

Ramsey and its neighbors

Questions about parks and trails in Ramsey

Trail talk

Where this page comes from