Buena Vista State Forest
Managed by Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
14,687 acres3.8 mi of trail
Tower Road NortheastFinlandia Drive Northeast
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
C−Outdoors
Outdoors in Turtle Lake Township
18% of Turtle Lake Township’s land is conserved: 3,365 acres
The biggest trail networks: Buena Vista State Forest (3.8 mi), Movil Maze Recreation Area (0.9 mi). 5.6 miles of mapped trail cross Turtle Lake Township, 0.2 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 25% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
18%
3,365 acres · of 28.8 sq mi of land
Trails
5.6 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Near a park
under 1%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
15
2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Turtle Lake Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Turtle Lake Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Turtle Lake Township is ahead of 25% of U.S. towns. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
C−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Turtle Lake Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land18% of the land · typical MN town 5% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (6 mi) · MN 0.5 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land0.0 acres of park per 1,000 residents (0 acres) · MN 24 · U.S. 13DParks close to home0% 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 25%
LessMore
Water is 20% of Turtle Lake Township’s area (7 of 36 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 15%.
NoteFew parks or trails are mapped in Turtle Lake Township. OpenStreetMap is mapped by volunteers and coverage varies from town to town, so a town with unmapped parks scores low on them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C+. 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 Buena Vista State Forest, with 3.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Movil Maze Recreation Area
Managed by Beltrami County
184 acres0.9 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Who protects it
3,365 conserved acres
18% of Turtle Lake Township’s land. Water is left out: Turtle Lake Township has 28.8 square miles of land and 7.4 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Turtle Lake Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources3,329 ac
State fish & wildlife36 ac
State Resource Management Area · 3,329 acState Conservation Area · 36 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buena Vista State Forest State Resource Management Area | State natural resources | 3,059 | Open |
| Miscellaneous State Resource Management Area | State natural resources | 270 | Open |
| Big Turtle Lake Isl. State Aquatic Management Area (Beltrami) State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 28 | Restricted |
| Little Turtle Lake State Aquatic Management Area (Beltrami) State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 8 | Restricted |
Things to do
2 places to go in Turtle Lake Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Boat launches in Turtle Lake Township
2 boat launches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
2 named trails and 15 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 1.3 mi
Tower Road Northeast1.3 mi
Finlandia Drive Northeast1.2 mi
When to get out
The walking year in Turtle Lake 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) | 8.8 | 10.2 | 11.8 | 13.6 | 15.1 | 16.0 | 15.6 | 14.3 | 12.5 | 10.7 | 9.2 | 8.4 |
| High (°F) | 17 | 23 | 36 | 51 | 65 | 74 | 79 | 77 | 68 | 53 | 35 | 22 |
| Rain (in) | 0.7 | 0.7 | 1.0 | 1.7 | 2.9 | 4.2 | 3.6 | 3.2 | 2.9 | 2.6 | 1.2 | 0.9 |
February is the driest month (0.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 79 °F). 4.2 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Turtle Lake Township →
Next door
Turtle Lake Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Northern Township18 miPort Hope Township14 miTurtle Lake Township5.6 miLiberty Township0.8 miDurand Township0.2 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Turtle Lake Township | 18% | 0.2 | under 1 | under 1% | C− |
| Port Hope Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Durand Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Liberty Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Northern Township | 21% | 0.8 | 415 | 21% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Turtle Lake Township
Where can I hike in Turtle Lake Township?
The longest trail networks: Buena Vista State Forest, 3.8 miles; Movil Maze Recreation Area, 0.9 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Turtle Lake Township is conserved land?
18% 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 Turtle Lake Township’s trails?
Buena Vista State Forest and Movil Maze Recreation Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Turtle Lake Township?
35,533 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Turtle Lake Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 3,348 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Turtle Lake Township have?
Ahead of 25% 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 Turtle Lake 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 →