Photo: User:Eco84 · CC BY-SA 3.0Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park in Tonka Bay
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park. 33 acres are parks and preserves, 26 per 1,000 residents. 5% of Tonka Bay’s land is conserved, about 30 acres.
Ahead of 75% of U.S. towns. What drives it
What kind of outdoors town is Tonka Bay?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
How much outdoors does Tonka Bay have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Tonka Bay is ahead of 75% of U.S. towns. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
Water is more than half of Tonka Bay’s area (1 of 2 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 2%.
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
The longest trail network is Manitou Park, with 0.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Wekota Beach Park
Pleasant Park
30 conserved acres
5% of Tonka Bay’s land. Water is left out: Tonka Bay has 0.9 square miles of land and 1.2 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Tonka Bay’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Old Orchard Park Local Park | Town or city | 11 | Open |
| Manitou Park Local Park | Town or city | 9 | Open |
| Wekota Beach And Park Local Park | Town or city | 7 | Open |
| Pleasant Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
8 places to go in Tonka Bay
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
3 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
4 boat launches without a name on the map.
0.5 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.
The walking year in Tonka Bay
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 | 13.4 | 14.8 | 15.6 | 15.3 | 14.1 | 12.5 | 10.9 | 9.5 | 8.8 |
| High (°F) | 22 | 28 | 41 | 56 | 69 | 78 | 82 | 80 | 72 | 58 | 41 | 28 |
| Rain (in) | 0.8 | 0.8 | 1.6 | 3.0 | 4.3 | 4.9 | 4.1 | 4.3 | 3.4 | 2.6 | 1.5 | 1.1 |
January is the driest month (0.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 4.9 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Tonka Bay →
Tonka Bay and its neighbors
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tonka Bay | 5% | 0.2 | 26 | 99%+ | A− |
| Shorewood | 4% | 0.3 | 17 | 88% | B |
| Orono | 7% | 0.7 | 57 | 86% | A |
| Village of Minnetonka Beach | — 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 Tonka Bay
Where can I hike in Tonka Bay?
The longest trail networks: Manitou Park, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Tonka Bay is conserved land?
5% 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 Tonka Bay’s trails?
Manitou Park and Wekota Beach Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Tonka Bay?
0.5 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.1 of painted or protected lanes and 0.4 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Tonka Bay?
21,924 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Tonka Bay or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 33 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Tonka Bay have?
Ahead of 75% 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 Tonka Bay 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 →