Boyd Sartell Wildlife Management Area, Main Unit
Managed by Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
777 acres0.6 mi of trail
Jamaica Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
COutdoors
Outdoors in Shieldsville Township
9% of Shieldsville Township’s land is conserved: 1,829 acres
The biggest trail networks: Boyd Sartell Wildlife Management Area, Main Unit (0.6 mi). 3% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 0.9 miles of mapped trail cross Shieldsville Township.
Ahead of 27% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
9%
1,829 acres · of 32.2 sq mi of land
Trails
0.9 mi
0.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
8 ac
8.8 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
3%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
8
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Shieldsville Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Shieldsville 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 Shieldsville Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land9% of the land · typical MN town 5% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · MN 0.5 · U.S. 0.4C−Park land8.8 acres of park per 1,000 residents (8 acres) · MN 24 · U.S. 13C+Parks close to home3% of residents within a half mile of a park · MN 95% · U.S. 72%D
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 27%
LessMore
Water is 12% of Shieldsville Township’s area (4 of 37 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 8%.
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 Boyd Sartell Wildlife Management Area, Main Unit, with 0.6 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Boyd Sartell Wildlife Management Area, Rainbow Island Unit
Managed by Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
109 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Heron Island Bird Sanctuary
Managed by Rice County
10 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 5 parks & preserves
Boyd Sartell Wildlife Management Area, Main Unit777 acres · 0.6 mi of trail · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
DirectionsBoyd Sartell Wildlife Management Area, Rainbow Island Unit109 acres · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
DirectionsHeron Island Bird Sanctuary10 acres · Rice County
Cedar Lake Boat Launch5 acres
DirectionsHirdler Park3 acres · Rice County
DirectionsWho protects it
1,829 conserved acres
9% of Shieldsville Township’s land. Water is left out: Shieldsville Township has 32.2 square miles of land and 4.3 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Shieldsville Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State fish & wildlife1,241 ac
Other state land351 ac
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service231 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)71 ac
State natural resources43 ac
State Conservation Area · 1,284 acConservation Easement · 564 acForest Stewardship Easement · 90 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 545 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 19 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boyd Sartell State Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 1,128 | Restricted |
| Caron Lake State Aquatic Management Area (Rice) State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 91 | Restricted |
| Whitney Island State Scientific and Natural Area State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 43 | Restricted |
| Cedar Lake State Aquatic Management Area (Rice) State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 22 | Restricted |
Things to do
3 places to go in Shieldsville Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Shieldsville Township
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Campgrounds in Shieldsville Township
Le Mieux Resort & Campground
DirectionsTrails & water
1 named trail and 8 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Jamaica Trail0.4 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
When to get out
The walking year in Shieldsville 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) | 9.2 | 10.4 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.8 | 15.5 | 15.2 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.5 | 8.9 |
| High (°F) | 23 | 28 | 40 | 56 | 68 | 78 | 82 | 79 | 72 | 58 | 41 | 28 |
| Rain (in) | 0.9 | 1.0 | 1.8 | 3.2 | 4.4 | 5.3 | 4.5 | 4.7 | 3.7 | 2.6 | 1.6 | 1.2 |
January is the driest month (0.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 5.3 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Shieldsville Township →
Next door
Shieldsville Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Morristown Township2.0 miErin Township1.6 miKilkenny Township1.5 miShieldsville Township0.9 miWells Township0.1 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shieldsville Township | 9% | under 0.1 | 9 | 3% | C |
| Wells Township | 2% | under 0.1 | 3 | 21% | D |
| Morristown Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Erin Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Kilkenny 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 Shieldsville Township
Where can I hike in Shieldsville Township?
The longest trail networks: Boyd Sartell Wildlife Management Area, Main Unit, 0.6 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Shieldsville Township is conserved land?
9% 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 Shieldsville Township’s trails?
Boyd Sartell Wildlife Management Area, Main Unit and Boyd Sartell Wildlife Management Area, Rainbow Island Unit don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Shieldsville Township?
2,769 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Shieldsville Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 8 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Shieldsville 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 Shieldsville 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 →