Mayhew Creek Park
Managed by City of Sauk Rapids
125 acres1.8 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Leonard Robinson House · Photo: McGhiever · CC BY-SA 3.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Sauk Rapids
98% of residents live within a half mile of a park in Sauk Rapids
5.3 miles of mapped trail cross Sauk Rapids, 0.8 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Mayhew Creek Park (1.8 mi). 333 acres are parks and preserves, 24 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 83% of U.S. towns · #87 of 274 in Minnesota. What drives it
Conserved land
4%
152 acres · of 6.3 sq mi of land
Trails
5.3 mi
0.8 per sq mi of land
Park land
333 ac
24 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
98%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
8.3 mi
8.3 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Sauk Rapids?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Sauk Rapids have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Sauk Rapids is ahead of 83% of U.S. towns, #87 of 274 in Minnesota. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of residents near a park ranks highest, conserved land lowest.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Sauk Rapids’ overall grade.
Conserved land4% of the land · typical MN town 5% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.8 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (5 mi) · MN 0.5 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land24 acres of park per 1,000 residents (333 acres) · MN 24 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home98% 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 83%
LessMore
Minnesota towns of 2,500+ (274)Ahead of 68%
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 Mayhew Creek Park, with 1.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
All 8 parks & preserves
Mayhew Creek Park125 acres · 1.8 mi of trail · City of Sauk Rapids
Lions Park6 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsSouthside Park5 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsMunicpal Park14 acres
DirectionsOakridge Park4 acres
Fairview Farms Park2 acres
Scenic View Park2 acres
Benedict Acres Park1 acres
Who protects it
152 conserved acres
4% of Sauk Rapids’ land. Who manages Sauk Rapids’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city151 ac
Local Park · 70 acLocal Conservation Area · 47 acLocal Recreation Area · 34 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bob Cross Nature Preserve Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 47 | Open |
| Unknown Ball Parks Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 34 | Open |
| Island View Park Local Park | Town or city | 24 | Open |
| Sauk Rapids Municipal Park Local Park | Town or city | 16 | Open |
| Lions Park Local Park | Town or city | 11 | Open |
| Prairie Lane Park Local Park | Town or city | 11 | Open |
| Pleasant View Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Scenic View Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Unknown Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
| Oaklane Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
10 places to go in Sauk Rapids
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Sauk Rapids
8 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Sauk Rapids
2 boat launches without a name on the map.
Trails & water
1 named trail and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 0.8 miUnpaved · 0.9 mi
Bob Cross Nature Preserve0.8 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
8.3 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
8.3 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
16Baseball
4Tennis
2Soccer
1Football
1Basketball
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).
Leonard Robinson HouseBuilding · listed 1982
About itWhen to get out
September is the best month for walking in Sauk Rapids
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 | 15.3 | 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 | 1.5 | 2.6 | 3.8 | 4.2 | 4.1 | 3.9 | 2.9 | 2.7 | 1.4 | 0.9 |
January is the driest month (0.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 81 °F). 4.2 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Sauk Rapids →
Next door
Sauk Rapids 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sauk Rapids | 4% | 0.8 | 24 | 98% | A− |
| Minden Township | under 1% | 0.2 | 10 | 38% | C |
| Sartell | 7% | 0.5 | 28 | 97% | A− |
| St. Cloud | 5% | 0.4 | 23 | 97% | A− |
| Le Sauk Township | under 1% | under 0.1 | 48 | 36% | C |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Sauk Rapids
Where can I hike in Sauk Rapids?
The longest trail networks: Mayhew Creek Park, 1.8 miles; Lions Park, 0.1 miles; Southside Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Sauk Rapids is conserved land?
4% 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 Rapids’ trails?
Mayhew Creek Park and Municpal Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Sauk Rapids?
8.3 miles of bike routes are on the map: 8.3 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Sauk Rapids?
3,374 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Sauk Rapids or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 333 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Sauk Rapids have?
Ahead of 83% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #87 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 Sauk Rapids 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 →