The Arboretum at Gustavus Adolphus College;Gustavus Adolphus College Arboretum
Park
128 acres2.6 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Emily and Stephen Schumacher House · Photo: Bobak Ha'Eri · CC BY 3.0A+Outdoors
Outdoors in St. Peter
20% of St. Peter’s land is conserved, and virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park. 20% of St. Peter’s land is conserved, about 793 acres. 1,160 acres are parks and preserves, 95 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 98% of U.S. towns · #11 of 274 in Minnesota. What drives it
Conserved land
20%
793 acres · of 6.3 sq mi of land
Trails
5.3 mi
0.8 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,160 ac
95 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
22 mi
21 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
3
1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is St. Peter?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does St. Peter have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, St. Peter is ahead of 98% of U.S. towns, #11 of 274 in Minnesota. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of residents near a park ranks highest, trail miles lowest.
A+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of St. Peter’s overall grade.
Conserved land20% of the land · typical MN town 5% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.8 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (5 mi) · MN 0.5 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land95 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,160 acres) · MN 24 · U.S. 13AParks close to homeVirtually all residents within a half mile of a park · MN 95% · U.S. 72%A+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 98%
LessMore
Minnesota towns of 2,500+ (274)Ahead of 96%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from A 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 The Arboretum at Gustavus Adolphus College;Gustavus Adolphus College Arboretum, with 2.6 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Traverse des Sioux Park
Park
421 acres0.7 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 18 parks & preserves
The Arboretum at Gustavus Adolphus College;Gustavus Adolphus College Arboretum128 acres · 2.6 mi of trail
DirectionsTraverse des Sioux Park421 acres · 0.7 mi of trail
DirectionsGault Park19 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsRiverside Park16 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsMinnesota Square Park11 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsPrairie Ridge Park6 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
Jefferson Park18 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsRiverside Park - Disc Golf144 acres
DirectionsCommunity Spirit Park90 acres
DirectionsJefferson Park West Natural Resource Area26 acres
DirectionsVeteran's Memorial Park12 acres
DirectionsMcGill Park8 acres
DirectionsGorman Park5 acres
DirectionsStones Park4 acres
DirectionsRamsey Park3 acres
Warren Park2 acres
Levee Park1 acres
DirectionsJohnson Park1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
793 conserved acres
20% of St. Peter’s land. Who manages St. Peter’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city499 ac
State natural resources164 ac
Other state land161 ac
Private owners1 ac
Local Park · 499 acState Resource Management Area · 164 acState Recreation Area · 161 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Traverse Des Sioux Park Local Park | Town or city | 250 | Open |
| Miscellaneous State Resource Management Area | State natural resources | 164 | Open |
| Glueck Park State Recreation Area | Other state land | 161 | Open |
| Riverside Park Local Park | Town or city | 149 | Open |
| Gault Park Local Park | Town or city | 19 | Open |
| Jefferson Park Local Park | Town or city | 18 | Open |
| Veterans Memorial Park Local Park | Town or city | 15 | Open |
| Minnesota Square Park Local Park | Town or city | 12 | Open |
| Levee Park Local Park | Town or city | 11 | Open |
| Mcgill Park Local Park | Town or city | 9 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
16 places to go in St. Peter
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in St. Peter
14 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in St. Peter
1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Campgrounds in St. Peter
Riverside City ParkFee · In Riverside Park
DirectionsTrails & water
3 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
22 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
21 mi
off-road bike paths
0.8 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
31Tennis
21Baseball
19Soccer
4Pickleball
3Football
3Basketball
1Volleyball
1Beach volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →19 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Eugene Saint Julien Cox HouseBuilding · listed 1970
About itTraverse des SiouxSite · listed 1973
About itNicollet House HotelBuilding · listed 1975
About itOld Main-Gustavus Adolphus CollegeBuilding · listed 1976
About itSt. Peter Central SchoolBuilding · listed 1980
About itChurch of the Holy Communion-EpiscopalBuilding · listed 1983
About itFrederick A. Donahower HouseBuilding · listed 1983
About itHenry A. Swift HouseBuilding · listed 1983
About itJohn A. Johnson HouseBuilding · listed 1983
About itNicollet County BankBuilding · listed 1983
About itSt. Peter Carnegie LibraryBuilding · listed 1983
About itUnion Presbyterian ChurchBuilding · listed 1983
About it7 more on the History page.
When to get out
The walking year in St. Peter
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 | 41 | 56 | 69 | 79 | 83 | 80 | 73 | 59 | 42 | 28 |
| Rain (in) | 0.8 | 0.9 | 1.6 | 3.1 | 4.2 | 4.8 | 4.1 | 4.1 | 3.2 | 2.4 | 1.5 | 1.1 |
January is the driest month (0.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 4.8 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in St. Peter →
Next door
St. Peter and its neighbors
St. Peter has the most mapped trails of the 5 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. Peter | 20% | 0.8 | 95 | 99%+ | A+ |
| Kasota Township | 5% | 0.1 | 116 | 13% | B− |
| Traverse Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Kasota | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Oshawa 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. Peter
Where can I hike in St. Peter?
The longest trail networks: The Arboretum at Gustavus Adolphus College;Gustavus Adolphus College Arboretum, 2.6 miles; Traverse des Sioux Park, 0.7 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of St. Peter is conserved land?
20% 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. Peter’s trails?
The Arboretum at Gustavus Adolphus College;Gustavus Adolphus College Arboretum and Traverse des Sioux Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in St. Peter?
22 miles of bike routes are on the map: 21 of off-road paths and 0.8 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near St. Peter?
3,168 acres of parks and open public land lie inside St. Peter or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,318 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does St. Peter have?
Ahead of 98% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #11 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. Peter 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 →