Pillsbury State Forest
Managed by Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
601 acres1.8 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Crow Wing State Park · Photo: McGhiever · CC BY-SA 3.0B−Outdoors
Outdoors in Sylvan Township
Sylvan Township has 248 acres of parks, 83 for every 1,000 residents
10% of Sylvan Township’s land is conserved, about 1,982 acres. The biggest trail networks: Pillsbury State Forest (1.8 mi). 2% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 50% of U.S. towns · #209 of 274 in Minnesota. What drives it
Conserved land
10%
1,982 acres · of 30.8 sq mi of land
Trails
3.7 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
248 ac
83 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
2%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
7
What kind of outdoors town is Sylvan Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Sylvan Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Sylvan Township is ahead of 50% of U.S. towns, #209 of 274 in Minnesota. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Sylvan Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land10% of the land · typical MN town 5% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (4 mi) · MN 0.5 · U.S. 0.4CPark land83 acres of park per 1,000 residents (248 acres) · MN 24 · U.S. 13AParks close to home2% 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 50%
LessMore
Minnesota towns of 2,500+ (274)Ahead of 24%
Water is 11% of Sylvan Township’s area (4 of 34 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 9%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B+. 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 Pillsbury State Forest, with 1.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Crow Wing State Park
Nature preserve
406 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
1,982 conserved acres
10% of Sylvan Township’s land. Water is left out: Sylvan Township has 30.8 square miles of land and 3.7 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Sylvan Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Joint979 ac
Other state land614 ac
State parks245 ac
State natural resources143 ac
Unknown Easement · 979 acConservation Easement · 614 acState Park · 245 acState Resource Management Area · 143 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1,593 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 2 of 10 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crow Wing State Park State Park | State parks | 245 | Open |
| Miscellaneous State Resource Management Area | State natural resources | 121 | Open |
| Pillsbury State Forest State Resource Management Area | State natural resources | 22 | Open |
Trails & water
3 named trails and 7 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Weendego Trail Southwest0.4 mi
Amour Pass Southwest0.2 mi
Rainwater Circle Southwest0.2 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Courts & fields
1Football
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).
Crow Wing State ParkSite · listed 1970
About itWhen to get out
The walking year in Sylvan 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) | 9.0 | 10.3 | 11.8 | 13.5 | 15.0 | 15.8 | 15.4 | 14.2 | 12.5 | 10.8 | 9.3 | 8.6 |
| High (°F) | 19 | 25 | 38 | 53 | 67 | 76 | 80 | 78 | 69 | 55 | 38 | 24 |
| Rain (in) | 0.7 | 0.7 | 1.3 | 2.3 | 3.4 | 4.3 | 4.4 | 3.5 | 3.0 | 2.7 | 1.2 | 0.9 |
January is the driest month (0.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 80 °F). 4.4 inches fall in July, the wettest month. The climate in Sylvan Township →
Next door
Sylvan Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Scandia Valley Township38 miBaxter20 miFort Ripley Township17 miRosing Township17 miFairview Township11 miMay Township7.2 miEast Gull Lake6.1 miSylvan Township3.7 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sylvan Township | 10% | 0.1 | 83 | 2% | B− |
| Rosing Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Fort Ripley Township | 37% | 0.8 | 1,388 | 17% | A− |
| Scandia Valley Township | 6% | 0.6 | 70 | under 1% | B |
| Fairview Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Baxter | 5% | 1.1 | 35 | 47% | B+ |
| May Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| East Gull Lake | 1% | 0.8 | under 1 | under 1% | C− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Sylvan Township
Where can I hike in Sylvan Township?
The longest trail networks: Pillsbury State Forest, 1.8 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Sylvan Township is conserved land?
10% 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 Sylvan Township’s trails?
Pillsbury State Forest and Crow Wing State Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Sylvan Township?
17,254 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Sylvan Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 394 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Sylvan Township have?
Ahead of 50% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #209 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 Sylvan 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 →