Michaelson Farm Wildlife Management Area
Managed by Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
42 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Vas Littlecrow Wojtanowicz · Public domainC−Outdoors
Outdoors in Rice
Rice has 3 acres of parks, 1.2 for every 1,000 residents
1% of Rice’s land is conserved, about 42 acres. 0.7 miles of mapped trail cross Rice, 0.1 per square mile of land. 53% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 20% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
1%
42 acres · of 5.7 sq mi of land
Trails
0.7 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
3 ac
1.2 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
53%
of residents within ½ mile
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Rice have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Rice is ahead of 20% of U.S. towns. All four inputs are below most U.S. towns; the share of residents near a park comes closest.
C−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Rice’s overall grade.
Conserved land1% of the land · typical MN town 5% · U.S. 4%CTrails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · MN 0.5 · U.S. 0.4CPark land1.2 acres of park per 1,000 residents (3 acres) · MN 24 · U.S. 13C−Parks close to home53% 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
NoteFew parks or trails are mapped in Rice. 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 C− 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.
Westside Park
Park
3 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
42 conserved acres
1% of Rice’s land. Who manages Rice’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State fish & wildlife42 ac
State Conservation Area · 42 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Michaelson Farm State Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 42 | Restricted |
Things to do
1 places to go in Rice
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Rice
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Biking & sports
0.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Courts & fields
2Baseball
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
September is the best month for walking in Rice
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) | 9.0 | 10.3 | 11.8 | 13.5 | 14.9 | 15.7 | 15.4 | 14.1 | 12.5 | 10.8 | 9.4 | 8.7 |
| High (°F) | 21 | 26 | 39 | 54 | 68 | 77 | 81 | 79 | 71 | 56 | 39 | 26 |
| Rain (in) | 0.7 | 0.8 | 1.4 | 2.5 | 3.6 | 4.3 | 4.2 | 3.7 | 2.9 | 2.7 | 1.3 | 0.9 |
January is the driest month (0.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 81 °F). 4.3 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Rice →
Next door
Rice 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rice | 1% | 0.1 | 1 | 53% | C− |
| Langola Township | 2% | 0.1 | 10 | 4% | C− |
| Brockway Township | 1% | 0.2 | 70 | 2% | C |
| Watab Township | 4% | 0.2 | under 1 | under 1% | C− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Rice
Where can I hike in Rice?
The longest trail networks: Westside Park, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Rice 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 Rice’s trails?
Michaelson Farm Wildlife Management Area and Westside Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Rice?
1,112 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Rice or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 3 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Rice have?
Ahead of 20% 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 Rice 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 →