Quarry Park and Nature Reserve
Managed by Stearns County
708 acres6.6 mi of trail
Winter TrailFloating bridge
Dogs on leash
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Waite Park
Waite Park has 14 miles of mapped trails, 1.1 for every square mile of land
The biggest trail networks: Quarry Park and Nature Reserve (6.6 mi), Quarry Park Scientific and Natural Area (4.7 mi), Rivers Edge Park (1.5 mi). 83% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 5% of Waite Park’s land is conserved, about 385 acres.
Ahead of 71% of U.S. towns · #147 of 274 in Minnesota. What drives it
Conserved land
5%
385 acres · of 12.6 sq mi of land
Trails
14 mi
1.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
80 ac
9.5 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
83%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
6.4 mi
0.7 mi lanes · 5.1 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
22
1 beach · 1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Waite Park?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Waite Park have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Waite Park is ahead of 71% of U.S. towns, #147 of 274 in Minnesota. Trail miles hold the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Waite Park’s overall grade.
Conserved land5% of the land · typical MN town 5% · U.S. 4%BTrails1.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (14 mi) · MN 0.5 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land9.5 acres of park per 1,000 residents (80 acres) · MN 24 · U.S. 13C+Parks close to home83% of residents within a half mile of a park · MN 95% · U.S. 72%B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 71%
LessMore
Minnesota towns of 2,500+ (274)Ahead of 47%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B 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 Quarry Park and Nature Reserve, with 6.6 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Quarry Park Scientific and Natural Area
Managed by Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
481 acres4.7 mi of trail
Winter Trail
No dogs
No trailhead mapped yet
Lions Park
Managed by City of Rockville
5 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 5 parks & preserves
Quarry Park and Nature Reserve708 acres · 6.6 mi of trail · Stearns County
DirectionsQuarry Park Scientific and Natural Area481 acres · 4.7 mi of trail · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
Rivers Edge Park45 acres · 1.5 mi of trail
DirectionsLions Park5 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · City of Rockville
DirectionsWillow Creek Park4 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsWho protects it
385 conserved acres
5% of Waite Park’s land. Who manages Waite Park’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources324 ac
Town or city53 ac
Private owners9 ac
State Conservation Area · 324 acLocal Recreation Area · 50 acLocal Park · 12 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quarry Park State Scientific and Natural Area State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 324 | Restricted |
| Rivesr Edge Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 40 | Open |
| Bartz Park Local Recreation Area | Private owners | 9 | Open |
| Community Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Lions Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Willow Creek Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Rivers Edge Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
12 places to go in Waite Park
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Waite Park
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Public pools in Waite Park
Splash padIn Rivers Edge Park
DirectionsPlus 1 public pool without a name on the map.
Playgrounds in Waite Park
5 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Waite Park
1 boat launch without a name on the map.
Picnic areas in Waite Park
Quarry 20 picnic areaIn Quarry Park and Nature Reserve
DirectionsPlus 1 picnic area without a name on the map.
Disc golf in Waite Park
1 disc golf course without a name on the map.
Trails & water
1 named trail and 22 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 9.4 miUnpaved · 2.0 mi
Winter Trail0.4 mi
Biking & sports
6.4 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.7 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
5.1 mi
off-road bike paths
0.5 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
13Baseball
6Pickleball
1Tennis
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
September is the best month for walking in Waite Park
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 | 13.5 | 14.9 | 15.7 | 15.3 | 14.1 | 12.5 | 10.8 | 9.4 | 8.7 |
| High (°F) | 21 | 26 | 39 | 54 | 68 | 78 | 82 | 79 | 71 | 56 | 40 | 26 |
| Rain (in) | 0.7 | 0.8 | 1.5 | 2.6 | 3.8 | 4.2 | 4.1 | 4.0 | 2.9 | 2.7 | 1.4 | 0.9 |
January is the driest month (0.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 4.2 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Waite Park →
Next door
Waite Park and its neighbors
Waite Park has the second most mapped trails of the 4 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waite Park | 5% | 1.1 | 10 | 83% | B+ |
| St. Cloud | 5% | 0.4 | 23 | 97% | A− |
| St. Joseph Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| St. Joseph | 1% | 0.7 | 14 | 81% | B |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Waite Park
Where can I hike in Waite Park?
The longest trail networks: Quarry Park and Nature Reserve, 6.6 miles; Quarry Park Scientific and Natural Area, 4.7 miles; Rivers Edge Park, 1.5 miles; Lions Park, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Waite Park 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 Waite Park’s trails?
OpenStreetMap records dogs as welcome at Quarry Park and Nature Reserve (on leash). For the rest, check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Waite Park?
6.4 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.7 of painted or protected lanes, 5.1 of off-road paths and 0.5 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Waite Park?
4,073 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Waite Park or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 80 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Waite Park have?
Ahead of 71% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #147 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 Waite Park 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 →