Photo: McGhiever · CC BY-SA 4.097% of residents live within a half mile of a park in St. Charles
101 acres are parks and preserves, 25 per 1,000 residents. 1.8 miles of mapped trail cross St. Charles, 0.5 per square mile of land. 4% of St. Charles’ land is conserved, about 103 acres.
Ahead of 78% of U.S. towns · #116 of 274 in Minnesota. What drives it
What kind of outdoors town is St. Charles?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
How much outdoors does St. Charles have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, St. Charles is ahead of 78% of U.S. towns, #116 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.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Pick a walk
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
All 8 parks & preserves
103 conserved acres
4% of St. Charles’ land. Who manages St. Charles’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 7 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jessens Park Local Park | Town or city | 31 | Open |
| City Park Local Park | Town or city | 29 | Open |
| Brookwood Park Local Park | Town or city | 12 | Open |
| Whispering Hills Park Local Park | Town or city | 9 | Open |
| Meadow View Park Local Park | Town or city | 8 | Open |
| Kieffer Park Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
14 places to go in St. Charles
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Plus 7 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
3 picnic areas without a name on the map.
2 lakes & rivers
10 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
3 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
The walking year in St. Charles
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 | 14.7 | 15.5 | 15.2 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 8.9 |
| High (°F) | 23 | 28 | 41 | 56 | 68 | 78 | 81 | 79 | 72 | 58 | 42 | 29 |
| Rain (in) | 1.0 | 1.1 | 2.0 | 3.7 | 4.6 | 5.5 | 4.4 | 4.5 | 3.8 | 2.5 | 1.8 | 1.3 |
January is the driest month (1.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 81 °F). 5.5 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in St. Charles →
St. Charles and its neighbors
St. Charles has the 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Charles | 4% | 0.5 | 25 | 97% | A− |
| St. Charles 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 St. Charles
How much of St. Charles 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 St. Charles’ trails?
Jessen's Park and Saint Charles City Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in St. Charles?
10 miles of bike routes are on the map: 2.4 of painted or protected lanes, 7.9 of off-road paths and 0.1 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near St. Charles?
2,458 acres of parks and open public land lie inside St. Charles or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 101 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does St. Charles have?
Ahead of 78% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #116 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 St. Charles neighbors.
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 →