Banning State Park
Nature preserve
1,256 acres4.8 mi of trail
Wolf Creek TrailHigh Bluff TrailWolf Creek Falls TrailQuarry Loop Trail+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trailhead
Photo: McGhiever · CC BY-SA 3.0A+Outdoors
Outdoors in Sandstone
33% of Sandstone’s land is conserved: 1,100 acres
1,156 acres are parks and preserves, 466 per 1,000 residents. 7.1 miles of mapped trail cross Sandstone, 1.3 per square mile of land. 91% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 98% of U.S. towns · #7 of 274 in Minnesota. What drives it
Conserved land
33%
1,100 acres · of 5.3 sq mi of land
Trails
7.1 mi
1.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,156 ac
466 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
91%
of residents within ½ mile
What kind of outdoors town is Sandstone?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Land that stays wild33% of the land is conserved; a typical Minnesota town, 5%.Room to roam466 acres of park per 1,000 residents; the typical U.S. town has 13.A trail town1.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, more than 87% of U.S. towns.History along the way5 places on the National Register.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Sandstone have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Sandstone is ahead of 98% of U.S. towns, #7 of 274 in Minnesota. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; conserved land ranks highest, the share of residents near a park lowest.
A+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Sandstone’s overall grade.
Conserved land33% of the land · typical MN town 5% · U.S. 4%A+Trails1.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (7 mi) · MN 0.5 · U.S. 0.4APark land466 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,156 acres) · MN 24 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home91% 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 98%
LessMore
Minnesota towns of 2,500+ (274)Ahead of 98%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would still be 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 Banning State Park, with 4.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Robinson Park
Managed by City of Sandstone
39 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Who protects it
1,100 conserved acres
33% of Sandstone’s land. Who manages Sandstone’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State parks1,100 ac
State Park · 1,100 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Banning State Park State Park | State parks | 1,100 | Open |
Things to do
6 places to go in Sandstone
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Sandstone
Panther ParkIn Panther Park
DirectionsPlus 2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Waterfalls in Sandstone
Big Spring FallsIn Banning State Park
DirectionsCampgrounds in Sandstone
Banning State ParkIn Banning State Park
DirectionsBanning State Park CampgroundFee · In Banning State Park · Banning State Park
DirectionsTrails & water
7 named trails
Named trails
Unpaved · 3.2 mi
Wolf Creek Trail0.7 mi
High Bluff Trail0.7 mi
Wolf Creek Falls Trail0.7 mi
Quarry Loop Trail0.5 mi
T-5200.4 mi
Connecting Trail0.2 mi
Hell's Gate Trail0.2 mi
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
8Baseball
3Pickleball
2Basketball
2Skate park
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →5 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
When to get out
September is the best month for walking in Sandstone
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 | 8.6 |
| High (°F) | 21 | 26 | 39 | 53 | 66 | 75 | 80 | 78 | 69 | 55 | 39 | 25 |
| Rain (in) | 0.8 | 0.8 | 1.5 | 2.7 | 3.6 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 3.9 | 3.3 | 3.1 | 1.6 | 1.1 |
January is the driest month (0.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 80 °F). 4.5 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Sandstone →
Next door
Sandstone and its neighbors
Sandstone has the second most mapped trails of the 2 towns around it. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sandstone | 33% | 1.3 | 466 | 91% | A+ |
| Sandstone 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 Sandstone
Where can I hike in Sandstone?
The longest trail networks: Banning State Park, 4.8 miles; Robinson Park, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Sandstone is conserved land?
33% 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 Sandstone’s trails?
Banning State Park and Robinson Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Sandstone?
9,666 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Sandstone or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,156 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Sandstone have?
Ahead of 98% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #7 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 Sandstone 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 →