Rum River North County Park
Park
74 acres0.8 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
H. G. Leathers House · Photo: McGhiever · CC BY-SA 4.0BOutdoors
Outdoors in St. Francis
St. Francis has 213 acres of parks, 25 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Rum River North County Park (0.8 mi). 85% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 3.3 miles of mapped trail cross St. Francis, 0.1 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 64% of U.S. towns · #175 of 274 in Minnesota. What drives it
Conserved land
6%
827 acres · of 23.3 sq mi of land
Trails
3.3 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
213 ac
25 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
85%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
14 mi
14 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
2
1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is St. Francis?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does St. Francis have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, St. Francis is ahead of 64% of U.S. towns, #175 of 274 in Minnesota. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of St. Francis’ overall grade.
Conserved land6% of the land · typical MN town 5% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (3 mi) · MN 0.5 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land25 acres of park per 1,000 residents (213 acres) · MN 24 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home85% of residents within a half mile of a park · MN 95% · U.S. 72%B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 64%
LessMore
Minnesota towns of 2,500+ (274)Ahead of 36%
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 Rum River North County Park, with 0.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Bethel Wildlife Management Area
Managed by Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
597 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Carl E. Bonnell Wildlife Management Area
Managed by Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
37 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Dellwood River Park
Park
21 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 11 parks & preserves
Rum River North County Park74 acres · 0.8 mi of trail
DirectionsDeer Creek 2nd Park13 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsHidden Ponds Park7 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsSeeley Brook Park2 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Woodbury Park1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsBethel Wildlife Management Area597 acres · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
DirectionsCarl E. Bonnell Wildlife Management Area37 acres · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
Dellwood River Park21 acres
St Francis Community Park13 acres
DirectionsHighlands Woods Park1 acres
Durigan Locher Park1 acres
Who protects it
827 conserved acres
6% of St. Francis’ land. Who manages St. Francis’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State fish & wildlife635 ac
Town or city119 ac
County73 ac
State Conservation Area · 635 acLocal Park · 162 acLocal Conservation Area · 30 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bethel State Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 597 | Restricted |
| Rum River North County Park Local Park | County | 73 | Open |
| Carl E. Bonnell State Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 37 | Restricted |
| Deer Creek 2Nd Park Local Park | Town or city | 26 | Open |
| Stonehouse Park Local Park | Town or city | 20 | Open |
| Dellwood River Park Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 16 | Open |
| Degardner Nature Park Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 14 | Open |
| Community Park Local Park | Town or city | 12 | Open |
| Smith Lake Park Local Park | Town or city | 11 | Open |
| Hidden Ponds Park Local Park | Town or city | 7 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
14 places to go in St. Francis
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in St. Francis
11 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in St. Francis
1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Scenic views in St. Francis
River Observation areaIn Rum River North County Park
DirectionsCampgrounds in St. Francis
Canoe CampsiteIn Rum River North County Park · Rum River North County Park
DirectionsTrails & water
2 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
14 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
14 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
13Baseball
11Tennis
4Tracks
3Basketball
3Soccer
2Football
1Volleyball
1Softball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →2 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
When to get out
The walking year in St. Francis
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 | 15.6 | 15.3 | 14.1 | 12.5 | 10.8 | 9.4 | 8.7 |
| High (°F) | 22 | 27 | 40 | 55 | 68 | 77 | 82 | 79 | 71 | 57 | 40 | 27 |
| Rain (in) | 0.7 | 0.8 | 1.5 | 2.8 | 4.2 | 4.5 | 4.4 | 4.1 | 3.3 | 2.8 | 1.5 | 1.1 |
January is the driest month (0.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 4.5 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in St. Francis →
Next door
St. Francis and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
East Bethel12 miOak Grove11 miLivonia Township3.4 miSt. Francis3.3 miStanford Township1.3 miAthens Township0.8 miBethel0.6 miNowthen0.0 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Francis | 6% | 0.1 | 25 | 85% | B |
| Athens Township | 1% | under 0.1 | 7 | 6% | D |
| Stanford Township | 2% | under 0.1 | 2 | 3% | D |
| Oak Grove | 6% | 0.3 | 113 | 86% | A− |
| Bethel | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Nowthen | 1% | under 0.1 | 29 | 12% | C− |
| East Bethel | 16% | 0.3 | 361 | 64% | A− |
| Livonia Township | 1% | 0.1 | 26 | 12% | C |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in St. Francis
Where can I hike in St. Francis?
The longest trail networks: Rum River North County Park, 0.8 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of St. Francis is conserved land?
6% 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. Francis’ trails?
Rum River North County Park and Bethel Wildlife Management Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in St. Francis?
14 miles of bike routes are on the map: 14 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near St. Francis?
15,394 acres of parks and open public land lie inside St. Francis or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 213 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does St. Francis have?
Ahead of 64% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #175 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. Francis 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 →