Wolf Lake Wildlife Management Area, Cottonwood County Unit
Managed by Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
30 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: McGhiever · CC BY-SA 3.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Windom
6% of Windom’s land is conserved, and 95% of residents live within a half mile of a park
4.4 miles of mapped trail cross Windom, 1.1 per square mile of land. 114 acres are parks and preserves, 24 per 1,000 residents. 6% of Windom’s land is conserved, about 155 acres.
Ahead of 86% of U.S. towns · #70 of 274 in Minnesota. What drives it
Conserved land
6%
155 acres · of 4.1 sq mi of land
Trails
4.4 mi
1.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
114 ac
24 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
95%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Windom?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Windom have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Windom is ahead of 86% of U.S. towns, #70 of 274 in Minnesota. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; trail miles rank highest, conserved land lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Windom’s overall grade.
Conserved land6% of the land · typical MN town 5% · U.S. 4%BTrails1.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (4 mi) · MN 0.5 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land24 acres of park per 1,000 residents (114 acres) · MN 24 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home95% 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 86%
LessMore
Minnesota towns of 2,500+ (274)Ahead of 75%
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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Abby Park
Park
2 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 5 parks & preserves
Court house park1 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
Tegels Park11 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsWolf Lake Wildlife Management Area, Cottonwood County Unit30 acres · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
DirectionsIsland Park26 acres
DirectionsAbby Park2 acres
Who protects it
155 conserved acres
6% of Windom’s land. Who manages Windom’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city112 ac
State fish & wildlife30 ac
Other state land8 ac
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service7 ac
Local Park · 112 acState Conservation Area · 30 acConservation Easement · 8 acResource Management Area · 7 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 8 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Windom Recreation Area Local Park | Town or city | 40 | Open |
| Wolf Lake State Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 30 | Restricted |
| Island Park Local Park | Town or city | 30 | Open |
| Mayflower Park Local Park | Town or city | 25 | Open |
| Tegels Park Local Park | Town or city | 11 | Open |
| Cottonwood County Waterfowl Production Area Resource Management Area | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 7 | Restricted |
| Jens Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Abby Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Witt Memorial Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
Things to do
3 places to go in Windom
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in Windom
Windom Community PoolIn Island Park
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Windom
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Campgrounds in Windom
Island Park CampgroundFee · In Island Park · Windom Parks
DirectionsTrails & water
1 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Courts & fields
7Baseball
2Tennis
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Cottonwood County CourthouseBuilding · listed 1977
About itWhen to get out
September is the best month for walking in Windom
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 | 14.7 | 15.4 | 15.1 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 8.9 |
| High (°F) | 23 | 28 | 40 | 56 | 69 | 79 | 82 | 80 | 73 | 59 | 42 | 28 |
| Rain (in) | 0.8 | 0.8 | 1.6 | 3.2 | 4.6 | 4.9 | 3.8 | 3.9 | 3.2 | 2.4 | 1.4 | 1.0 |
January is the driest month (0.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 4.9 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Windom →
Next door
Windom and its neighbors
Windom has the most mapped trails of the 3 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Windom | 6% | 1.1 | 24 | 95% | A |
| Great Bend Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Lakeside Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Windom
Where can I hike in Windom?
The longest trail networks: Tegels Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Windom is conserved land?
6% 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 Windom’s trails?
Wolf Lake Wildlife Management Area, Cottonwood County Unit and Island Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Windom?
362 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Windom or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 114 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Windom have?
Ahead of 86% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #70 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 Windom 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 →