Wood Lake Nature Center
Nature preserve
151 acres4 mi of trail
Perimeter TrailPrairie TrailWoodland TrailForest Trail+1
No dogs
Directionsto Wood Lake Nature Center Parking LotWebsite ↗
Photo: SDHO · CC BY-SA 4.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Richfield
11% of Richfield’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. 7.8 miles of mapped trail cross Richfield, 1.2 per square mile of land. 11% of Richfield’s land is conserved, about 466 acres.
Ahead of 91% of U.S. towns · #51 of 274 in Minnesota. What drives it
Conserved land
11%
466 acres · of 6.8 sq mi of land
Trails
7.8 mi
1.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
482 ac
13 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
44 mi
11 mi lanes · 27 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
7
What kind of outdoors town is Richfield?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Richfield have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Richfield is ahead of 91% of U.S. towns, #51 of 274 in Minnesota. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of residents near a park ranks highest, park acres per resident lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Richfield’s overall grade.
Conserved land11% of the land · typical MN town 5% · U.S. 4%A−Trails1.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (8 mi) · MN 0.5 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land13 acres of park per 1,000 residents (482 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 91%
LessMore
Minnesota towns of 2,500+ (274)Ahead of 82%
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 Wood Lake Nature Center, with 4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Veterans Memorial Park
Park
110 acres0.7 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Lincoln Fields
Managed by City of Richfield
7 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 23 parks & preserves
Wood Lake Nature Center151 acres · 4 mi of trail
DirectionsVeterans Memorial Park110 acres · 0.7 mi of trail
DirectionsChristian Park9 acres · 0.7 mi of trail
DirectionsAugsburg Park21 acres · 0.5 mi of trail
DirectionsTaft Park16 acres · 0.4 mi of trail
DirectionsLincoln Fields7 acres · 0.3 mi of trail · City of Richfield
DirectionsJefferson Park4 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
Kirchbak Sculpture Garden1 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsMonroe Park10 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Washington Park8 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsFairwood Park3 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Richfield Lake Park33 acres
DirectionsDonaldson Park24 acres
DirectionsAdams Hill Park14 acres
DirectionsRoosevelt Park12 acres
DirectionsNicollet Park7 acres
Sheridan Park6 acres
DirectionsLyndale Field6 acres
Heredia Park5 acres
DirectionsMadison Park3 acres
Fremont Park1 acres
Garfield Park1 acres
DirectionsApple Blossom Park1 acres
Who protects it
466 conserved acres
11% of Richfield’s land. Who manages Richfield’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city457 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government8 ac
Local Park · 314 acLocal Conservation Area · 152 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wood Lake Nature Center Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 152 | Open |
| Vets Memorial Local Park | Town or city | 106 | Open |
| Richfield Lake Local Park | Town or city | 34 | Open |
| Donaldson Local Park | Town or city | 24 | Open |
| Augsburg Local Park | Town or city | 20 | Open |
| Taft Park Local Park | Town or city | 15 | Open |
| Adams Hill Park Local Park | Town or city | 14 | Open |
| Roosevelt Local Park | Town or city | 12 | Open |
| Unknown Park Local Park | Town or city | 11 | Open |
| Christian Park Local Park | Town or city | 9 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
35 places to go in Richfield
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Richfield
35 playgrounds are on OpenStreetMap in all; the list shows named ones from the first 30.
Trails & water
5 named trails and 7 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 3.5 mi
Perimeter Trail1.8 mi
Prairie Trail0.5 mi
Woodland Trail0.2 mi
Forest Trail0.2 mi
Boardwalk Trail0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
44 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
11 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
27 mi
off-road bike paths
5.8 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
36Tennis
32Baseball
16Pickleball
14Basketball
8Soccer
6Beach volleyball
5Hockey rinks
4Tracks
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 1 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Riley Lucas Bartholomew HouseBuilding · listed 1978
About itWhen to get out
The walking year in Richfield
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 | 10.4 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.8 | 15.6 | 15.3 | 14.1 | 12.5 | 10.9 | 9.5 | 8.8 |
| High (°F) | 23 | 28 | 41 | 56 | 69 | 79 | 83 | 80 | 72 | 58 | 42 | 28 |
| Rain (in) | 0.8 | 0.8 | 1.6 | 2.9 | 4.2 | 4.7 | 4.2 | 4.5 | 3.3 | 2.7 | 1.6 | 1.1 |
January is the driest month (0.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 4.7 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Richfield →
Next door
Richfield 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Richfield | 11% | 1.2 | 13 | 99%+ | A |
| Minneapolis | 11% | 1.5 | 11 | 99%+ | A |
| Bloomington | 23% | 1.3 | 40 | 99% | A+ |
| Edina | 12% | 1.7 | 25 | 99% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Richfield
Where can I hike in Richfield?
The longest trail networks: Wood Lake Nature Center, 4 miles; Veterans Memorial Park, 0.7 miles; Christian Park, 0.7 miles; Augsburg Park, 0.5 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Richfield 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 Richfield’s trails?
Wood Lake Nature Center and Veterans Memorial Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Richfield?
44 miles of bike routes are on the map: 11 of painted or protected lanes, 27 of off-road paths and 5.8 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Richfield?
33,819 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Richfield or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 482 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Richfield have?
Ahead of 91% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #51 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 Richfield 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 →