The Marsh Reserve
Managed by City of Wayzata
22 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: 123dieinafire · CC BY 3.0B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Wayzata
96% of residents live within a half mile of a park in Wayzata
78 acres are parks and preserves, 18 per 1,000 residents. 1.3 miles of mapped trail cross Wayzata, 0.4 per square mile of land. 4% of Wayzata’s land is conserved, about 76 acres.
Ahead of 72% of U.S. towns · #140 of 274 in Minnesota. What drives it
Conserved land
4%
76 acres · of 3.1 sq mi of land
Trails
1.3 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
78 ac
18 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
96%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
6.5 mi
0.2 mi lanes · 6.3 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Wayzata?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Wayzata have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Wayzata is ahead of 72% of U.S. towns, #140 of 274 in Minnesota. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of residents near a park ranks highest, conserved land lowest.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Wayzata’s overall grade.
Conserved land4% of the land · typical MN town 5% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · MN 0.5 · U.S. 0.4BPark land18 acres of park per 1,000 residents (78 acres) · MN 24 · U.S. 13BParks close to home96% 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 72%
LessMore
Minnesota towns of 2,500+ (274)Ahead of 49%
Water is 34% of Wayzata’s area (2 of 5 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 3%.
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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Ferndale Marsh
Managed by The Nature Conservancy
19 acres
Dogs usually not allowed
No trailhead mapped yet
All 6 parks & preserves
The Marsh Reserve22 acres · City of Wayzata
DirectionsFerndale Marsh19 acres · The Nature Conservancy
Klapprich Park9 acres
DirectionsShaver Park3 acres
DirectionsWayzata Beach Park1 acres
DirectionsMargaret Circle Park1 acres
Who protects it
76 conserved acres
4% of Wayzata’s land. Water is left out: Wayzata has 3.1 square miles of land and 1.6 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Wayzata’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city58 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits18 ac
Local Park · 36 acLocal Conservation Area · 20 acPrivate Conservation · 18 acLocal Other or Unknown · 2 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 2 of 14 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Big Woods Preserve Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 20 | Open |
| Ferndale Marsh Fee Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 18 | Unknown |
| Nature Center Local Park | Town or city | 13 | Open |
| Marina - Beach Park Local Park | Town or city | 7 | Open |
| Klapprich Park Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| Depot Docks Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Bell Courts Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Gray's Bay Causeway Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| City Hall Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
| Margaret Circle Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
3 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
5 places to go in Wayzata
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Wayzata
St. Bartholomew Playground
DirectionsPlus 2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Wayzata
1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Campgrounds in Wayzata
Shaver CampgroundIn Shaver Park
DirectionsTrails & water
1 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
6.5 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.2 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
6.3 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
25Tennis
6Pickleball
3Baseball
1Basketball
1Hockey rinks
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →2 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 1 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The walking year in Wayzata
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 | 27 |
| Rain (in) | 0.7 | 0.8 | 1.6 | 3.0 | 4.2 | 4.7 | 4.1 | 4.4 | 3.4 | 2.7 | 1.5 | 1.1 |
January is the driest month (0.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 4.7 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Wayzata →
Next door
Wayzata 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wayzata | 4% | 0.4 | 18 | 96% | B+ |
| Minnetonka | 7% | 1.0 | 25 | 92% | A |
| Orono | 7% | 0.7 | 57 | 86% | A |
| Plymouth | 11% | 0.6 | 29 | 99%+ | A |
| Deephaven | 5% | 0.3 | 18 | 99%+ | B+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Wayzata
How much of Wayzata 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 Wayzata’s trails?
The Marsh Reserve and Ferndale Marsh don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Wayzata?
6.5 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.2 of painted or protected lanes and 6.3 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Wayzata?
26,127 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Wayzata or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 78 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Wayzata have?
Ahead of 72% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #140 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 Wayzata 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 →