Michaelson Farm Wildlife Management Area
Managed by Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
234 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
C−Outdoors
Outdoors in Watab Township
Few parks or trails are on the map in Watab Township
4.7 miles of mapped trail cross Watab Township, 0.2 per square mile of land. 4% of Watab Township’s land is conserved, about 475 acres.
Ahead of 16% of U.S. towns · #265 of 274 in Minnesota. What drives it
Conserved land
4%
475 acres · of 20.3 sq mi of land
Trails
4.7 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Near a park
under 1%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
2
1 beach · 1 boat launch
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Watab Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Watab Township is ahead of 16% of U.S. towns, #265 of 274 in Minnesota. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
C−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Watab Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land4% of the land · typical MN town 5% · U.S. 4%B−Trails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (5 mi) · MN 0.5 · U.S. 0.4B−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 16%
LessMore
Minnesota towns of 2,500+ (274)Ahead of 3%
Water is 9% of Watab Township’s area (2 of 22 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 3%.
NoteFew parks or trails are mapped in Watab 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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
475 conserved acres
4% of Watab Township’s land. Water is left out: Watab Township has 20.3 square miles of land and 2.1 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Watab Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State fish & wildlife258 ac
State natural resources164 ac
Other state land53 ac
State Conservation Area · 422 acConservation Easement · 53 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 53 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Michaelson Farm State Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 234 | Restricted |
| Englund Ecotone State Scientific and Natural Area State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 164 | Restricted |
| Little Rock Lake State Aquatic Management Area (Benton) State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 18 | Restricted |
| Baert Island State Aquatic Management Area (Benton) State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 5 | Restricted |
Things to do
3 places to go in Watab Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Watab Township
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in Watab Township
1 boat launch without a name on the map.
Picnic areas in Watab Township
1 picnic area without a name on the map.
Trails & water
2 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
When to get out
September is the best month for walking in Watab 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) | 9.1 | 10.3 | 11.8 | 13.5 | 14.9 | 15.7 | 15.4 | 14.1 | 12.5 | 10.8 | 9.4 | 8.7 |
| High (°F) | 21 | 27 | 39 | 54 | 68 | 77 | 82 | 79 | 71 | 56 | 40 | 26 |
| Rain (in) | 0.7 | 0.8 | 1.5 | 2.5 | 3.7 | 4.3 | 4.1 | 3.8 | 2.9 | 2.7 | 1.4 | 0.9 |
January is the driest month (0.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 4.3 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Watab Township →
Next door
Watab Township and its neighbors
Watab Township has the second most mapped trails of the 5 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Watab Township | 4% | 0.2 | under 1 | under 1% | C− |
| Brockway Township | 1% | 0.2 | 70 | 2% | C |
| Le Sauk Township | under 1% | under 0.1 | 48 | 36% | C |
| Langola Township | 2% | 0.1 | 10 | 4% | C− |
| Rice | 1% | 0.1 | 1 | 53% | C− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Watab Township
How much of Watab Township is conserved land?
4% 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 Watab Township’s trails?
Michaelson Farm Wildlife Management Area doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Watab Township?
3,052 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Watab Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), almost none of it inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Watab Township have?
Ahead of 16% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #265 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 Watab 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 →