Sauk River Wildlife Management Area
Managed by Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
849 acres1.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: McGhiever · CC BY-SA 4.0COutdoors
Outdoors in Sauk Centre Township
7% of Sauk Centre Township’s land is conserved: 1,652 acres
The biggest trail networks: Sauk River Wildlife Management Area (1.2 mi). 18% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 5 acres are parks and preserves, 4.1 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 27% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
7%
1,652 acres · of 35.7 sq mi of land
Trails
2.9 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
5 ac
4.1 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
18%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
5.3 mi
5.3 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
3
1 boat launch
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Sauk Centre Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Sauk Centre Township is ahead of 27% of U.S. towns. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
C
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Sauk Centre Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land7% of the land · typical MN town 5% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (3 mi) · MN 0.5 · U.S. 0.4CPark land4.1 acres of park per 1,000 residents (5 acres) · MN 24 · U.S. 13CParks close to home18% 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 27%
LessMore
Water is 6% of Sauk Centre Township’s area (2 of 38 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 7%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from D 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
The longest trail network is Sauk River WMA, with 1.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Sauk Lake Wayside Park
Park
3 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
1,652 conserved acres
7% of Sauk Centre Township’s land. Water is left out: Sauk Centre Township has 35.7 square miles of land and 2.2 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Sauk Centre Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service1,469 ac
State fish & wildlife847 ac
Other state land110 ac
County5 ac
Joint1 ac
Resource Management Area · 1,375 acState Conservation Area · 847 acConservation Easement · 205 acLocal Park · 5 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 111 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stearns County Waterfowl Production Area Resource Management Area | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 1,295 | Restricted |
| Sauk River State Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 846 | Restricted |
| Todd County Waterfowl Production Area Resource Management Area | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 80 | Restricted |
| Sauk Lake Wayside P Local Park | County | 5 | Open |
| Cedar Lake State Aquatic Management Area (Stearns) State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 1 | Restricted |
Things to do
1 places to go in Sauk Centre Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Boat launches in Sauk Centre Township
1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
3 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
5.3 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
5.3 mi
off-road bike paths
When to get out
September is the best month for walking in Sauk Centre Township
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 | 13.5 | 14.9 | 15.7 | 15.4 | 14.1 | 12.5 | 10.8 | 9.4 | 8.7 |
| High (°F) | 20 | 25 | 38 | 53 | 67 | 77 | 81 | 78 | 70 | 56 | 39 | 25 |
| Rain (in) | 0.7 | 0.7 | 1.4 | 2.5 | 3.4 | 4.4 | 4.4 | 3.7 | 2.9 | 2.7 | 1.2 | 0.9 |
February is the driest month (0.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 81 °F). 4.4 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Sauk Centre Township →
Next door
Sauk Centre Township and its neighbors
Sauk Centre Township has the second most mapped trails of the 6 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Melrose Township4.9 miSauk Centre Township2.9 miKandota Township2.8 miGetty Township1.1 miBirchdale Township0.7 miAshley Township0.5 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sauk Centre Township | 7% | 0.1 | 4 | 18% | C |
| Melrose Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Kandota Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Ashley Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Getty Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Birchdale 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 Sauk Centre Township
Where can I hike in Sauk Centre Township?
The longest trail networks: Sauk River Wildlife Management Area, 1.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Sauk Centre Township is conserved land?
7% 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 Sauk Centre Township’s trails?
Sauk River Wildlife Management Area and Sauk Lake Wayside Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Sauk Centre Township?
5.3 miles of bike routes are on the map: 5.3 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Sauk Centre Township?
798 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Sauk Centre Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 5 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Sauk Centre Township have?
Ahead of 27% 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 Sauk Centre Township 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 →