Sunktokeca Creek Wildlife Management Area
Managed by Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
202 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
John Hutchinson House · Photo: McGhiever · CC BY-SA 4.0DOutdoors
Outdoors in Wells Township
Few parks or trails are on the map in Wells Township
0.1 miles of mapped trail cross Wells Township. 21% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 5 acres are parks and preserves, 3.2 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 14% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
2%
360 acres · of 25.7 sq mi of land
Trails
0.1 mi
0.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
5 ac
3.2 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
21%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.3 mi
0.1 mi lanes · 0.2 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
4
1 boat launch
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Wells Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Wells Township is ahead of 14% of U.S. towns. All four inputs are below most U.S. towns; conserved land comes closest.
D
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Wells Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land2% of the land · typical MN town 5% · U.S. 4%C+Trails0.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (0 mi) · MN 0.5 · U.S. 0.4DPark land3.2 acres of park per 1,000 residents (5 acres) · MN 24 · U.S. 13C−Parks close to home21% of residents within a half mile of a park · MN 95% · U.S. 72%C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 14%
LessMore
Water is 13% of Wells Township’s area (4 of 30 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 2%.
NoteFew parks or trails are mapped in Wells 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.
Roberds Public Water Access
Park
4 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
360 conserved acres
2% of Wells Township’s land. Water is left out: Wells Township has 25.7 square miles of land and 3.9 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Wells Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service548 ac
State fish & wildlife9 ac
Resource Management Area · 396 acConservation Easement · 153 acState Conservation Area · 9 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 153 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rice County Waterfowl Production Area Resource Management Area | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 396 | Restricted |
| Dudley-Kelly State Aquatic Management Area (Rice) State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 9 | Restricted |
Things to do
1 places to go in Wells Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Boat launches in Wells Township
1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
4 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.3 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.1 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
0.2 mi
off-road bike paths
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
John Hutchinson HouseBuilding · listed 1982
About itWhen to get out
The walking year in Wells 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) | 9.2 | 10.4 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.8 | 15.5 | 15.2 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.5 | 8.9 |
| High (°F) | 23 | 28 | 40 | 56 | 68 | 78 | 82 | 79 | 72 | 58 | 41 | 28 |
| Rain (in) | 0.9 | 1.0 | 1.9 | 3.2 | 4.4 | 5.4 | 4.5 | 4.6 | 3.6 | 2.7 | 1.7 | 1.2 |
January is the driest month (0.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 5.4 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Wells Township →
Next door
Wells Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Faribault22 miCannon City Township2.7 miWarsaw Township1.7 miShieldsville Township0.9 miForest Township0.8 miWells Township0.1 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wells Township | 2% | under 0.1 | 3 | 21% | D |
| Faribault | 12% | 1.4 | 51 | 99%+ | A+ |
| Shieldsville Township | 9% | under 0.1 | 9 | 3% | C |
| Warsaw Township | under 1% | 0.1 | 13 | 6% | C− |
| Forest Township | 4% | under 0.1 | 6 | 4% | C− |
| Cannon City Township | 2% | 0.1 | 226 | 12% | C+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Wells Township
How much of Wells Township is conserved land?
2% 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 Wells Township’s trails?
Sunktokeca Creek Wildlife Management Area and Roberds Public Water Access don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Wells Township?
0.3 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.1 of painted or protected lanes and 0.2 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Wells Township?
5,220 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Wells Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 5 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Wells Township have?
Ahead of 14% 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 Wells 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 →