Vadnais - Snail Lakes Regional Park
Park
1,227 acres1.6 mi of trail
Sucker Lake Nordic Ski TrailSucker Lake Side Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Gabriel Vanslette · CC BY 3.0A+Outdoors
Outdoors in Vadnais Heights
32% of Vadnais Heights’ land is conserved: 1,428 acres
1,494 acres are parks and preserves, 116 per 1,000 residents. 99% of residents live within a half mile of a park. The biggest trail networks: Vadnais - Snail Lakes Regional Park (1.6 mi), Heritage Park (0.6 mi).
Ahead of 95% of U.S. towns · #25 of 274 in Minnesota. What drives it
Conserved land
32%
1,428 acres · of 7.0 sq mi of land
Trails
3.1 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,494 ac
116 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
25 mi
2.0 mi lanes · 22 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
6
What kind of outdoors town is Vadnais Heights?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Vadnais Heights have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Vadnais Heights is ahead of 95% of U.S. towns, #25 of 274 in Minnesota. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; conserved land ranks highest, trail miles lowest.
A+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Vadnais Heights’ overall grade.
Conserved land32% of the land · typical MN town 5% · U.S. 4%A+Trails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (3 mi) · MN 0.5 · U.S. 0.4BPark land116 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,494 acres) · MN 24 · U.S. 13AParks close to home99% of residents within a half mile of a park · MN 95% · U.S. 72%A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 95%
LessMore
Minnesota towns of 2,500+ (274)Ahead of 91%
Water is 15% of Vadnais Heights’ area (1 of 8 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 27%.
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 Vadnais - Snail Lakes Regional Park, with 1.6 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
All 14 parks & preserves
Vadnais - Snail Lakes Regional Park1,227 acres · 1.6 mi of trail
DirectionsHeritage Park30 acres · 0.6 mi of trail
DirectionsBridgewood Park33 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsCommunity Park37 acres
DirectionsKohler Meadows Park30 acres
DirectionsWestfield Park29 acres
DirectionsMorningside Park16 acres
DirectionsLily Pond Park14 acres
DirectionsBerwood Park10 acres
DirectionsBear Park3 acres · City of Vadnais Heights
DirectionsOak Creek Park2 acres
Wolters Park1 acres
DirectionsGreenhaven Park1 acres
Elmwood Park1 acres
Who protects it
1,428 conserved acres
32% of Vadnais Heights’ land. Water is left out: Vadnais Heights has 7.0 square miles of land and 1.2 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Vadnais Heights’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County1,235 ac
Town or city193 ac
Local Park · 1,310 acLocal Recreation Area · 64 acLocal Conservation Area · 54 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vadnais Snail Lake Regional Park Local Park | County | 900 | Open |
| Sucker Lake Regional Park Local Park | County | 333 | Open |
| Vadnais Heights Community Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 34 | Open |
| Kohler Meadows Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 30 | Open |
| Westfield Park Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 26 | Open |
| Bridgewood Park Local Park | Town or city | 21 | Open |
| Heritage Park Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 20 | Open |
| Morningside Park Local Park | Town or city | 17 | Open |
| Lily Pond Park Local Park | Town or city | 14 | Open |
| Berwood Park Local Park | Town or city | 11 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
16 places to go in Vadnais Heights
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Vadnais Heights
14 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Vadnais Heights
2 dog parks without a name on the map.
Trails & water
2 named trails and 6 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 1.0 miUnpaved · 2.4 mi
Sucker Lake Nordic Ski Trail1.0 mi
Sucker Lake Side Trail0.3 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
25 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
2.0 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
22 mi
off-road bike paths
0.5 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
12Baseball
10Soccer
7Pickleball
6Tennis
2Basketball
2Softball
1Football
1Beach volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The walking year in Vadnais Heights
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 | 68 | 78 | 82 | 80 | 72 | 57 | 41 | 28 |
| Rain (in) | 0.8 | 0.8 | 1.6 | 2.9 | 4.2 | 4.7 | 4.2 | 4.6 | 3.3 | 2.8 | 1.6 | 1.1 |
January is the driest month (0.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 4.7 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Vadnais Heights →
Next door
Vadnais Heights and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
North Oaks26 miWhite Bear Township24 miMaplewood14 miShoreview5.2 miWhite Bear Lake3.9 miVadnais Heights3.1 miGem Lake1.7 miLittle Canada0.2 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vadnais Heights | 32% | 0.4 | 116 | 99% | A+ |
| Gem Lake | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| White Bear Township | 32% | 3.3 | 162 | 99%+ | A+ |
| Shoreview | 24% | 0.5 | 65 | 98% | A |
| White Bear Lake | 7% | 0.5 | 16 | 99% | A− |
| Maplewood | 16% | 0.8 | 54 | 99%+ | A+ |
| Little Canada | 4% | 0.1 | 10 | 99%+ | B− |
| North Oaks | under 1% | 3.7 | 10 | 70% | B− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Vadnais Heights
Where can I hike in Vadnais Heights?
The longest trail networks: Vadnais - Snail Lakes Regional Park, 1.6 miles; Heritage Park, 0.6 miles; Bridgewood Park, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Vadnais Heights is conserved land?
32% 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 Vadnais Heights’ trails?
Vadnais - Snail Lakes Regional Park and Heritage Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Vadnais Heights?
25 miles of bike routes are on the map: 2.0 of painted or protected lanes, 22 of off-road paths and 0.5 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Vadnais Heights?
28,290 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Vadnais Heights or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,494 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Vadnais Heights have?
Ahead of 95% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #25 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 Vadnais Heights 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 →