Mingo National Wildlife Refuge
Managed by United States Fish and Wildlife Service
11,927 acres6 mi of trail
Boardwalk Nature TrailBluff Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trailhead
C+Outdoors
Outdoors in Duck Creek Township
16% of Duck Creek Township’s land is conserved: 14,445 acres
The biggest trail networks: Mingo National Wildlife Refuge (6 mi), Mingo Wilderness (0.9 mi). 99 miles of mapped trail cross Duck Creek Township, 0.7 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 35% of U.S. towns · #169 of 247 in Missouri. What drives it
Conserved land
16%
14,445 acres · of 137.2 sq mi of land
Trails
99 mi
0.7 per sq mi of land
Near a park
under 1%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
341 ft
Horsehead Knoll
Lakes & rivers
4
10 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Duck Creek Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Duck Creek Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Duck Creek Township is ahead of 35% of U.S. towns, #169 of 247 in Missouri. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
C+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Duck Creek Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land16% of the land · typical MO town 2% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.7 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (99 mi) · MO 0.3 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land0.0 acres of park per 1,000 residents (0 acres) · MO 11 · U.S. 13DParks close to home0% of residents within a half mile of a park · MO 74% · U.S. 72%D−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 35%
LessMore
Missouri towns of 2,500+ (247)Ahead of 32%
Few Missouri towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Duck Creek Township’s 16% is ahead of 99% of Missouri towns, while its trails per square mile lead 82% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B. 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 Mingo National Wildlife Refuge, with 6 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Mingo Wilderness
Managed by United States Fish and Wildlife Service
2,576 acres0.9 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto Pierman Parking
Who protects it
14,445 conserved acres
16% of Duck Creek Township’s land. Who manages Duck Creek Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service23,698 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)789 ac
Not recorded1,774 ac
National Wildlife Refuge · 23,635 acState Conservation Area · 1,770 acConservation Easement · 852 acUnknown · 4 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 852 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 12 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mingo National Wildlife Refuge National Wildlife Refuge | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 23,638 | Restricted |
| Duck Creek Conservation Area State Conservation Area | Not recorded | 1,527 | Restricted |
| Oak Ridge Conservation Area State Conservation Area | Not recorded | 243 | Restricted |
Things to do
19 places to go in Duck Creek Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Boat launches in Duck Creek Township
Duck Creek Conservation AreaIn Mingo National Wildlife Refuge
DirectionsFisk Access
DirectionsLower Mingo CreekIn Mingo National Wildlife Refuge
DirectionsMingo CreekIn Mingo National Wildlife Refuge
DirectionsMingo Creek-LowerIn Mingo National Wildlife Refuge
DirectionsMingo Creek-Wilderness BoundaryIn Mingo National Wildlife Refuge
DirectionsPool 1
DirectionsPool 3
Directions2 more boat launches
Pool 3
DirectionsPool 3
DirectionsScenic views in Duck Creek Township
HWY 51 OverlookIn Mingo National Wildlife Refuge
DirectionsLookout/Ob DeckIn Mingo National Wildlife Refuge
DirectionsLookout/Ob DeckIn Mingo National Wildlife Refuge
DirectionsPlus 1 scenic view without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Peaks in Duck Creek Township
Horsehead Knoll341 ft elevation · In Mingo National Wildlife Refuge
DirectionsCow Knoll RidgeIn Mingo National Wildlife Refuge
DirectionsSand Blow RidgeIn Mingo National Wildlife Refuge
DirectionsShaw RidgeIn Mingo National Wildlife Refuge
DirectionsCampgrounds in Duck Creek Township
1 campground without a name on the map.
Trails & water
3 named trails and 4 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 83.8 mi
Boardwalk Nature Trail0.7 mi
Bluff Trail0.4 mi
Hartz Pond Trail0.2 mi
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
1Basketball
1Tennis
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The walking year in Duck Creek 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) | 9.9 | 10.8 | 11.9 | 13.1 | 14.1 | 14.7 | 14.4 | 13.6 | 12.4 | 11.2 | 10.1 | 9.6 |
| High (°F) | 44 | 49 | 59 | 70 | 79 | 87 | 90 | 89 | 82 | 72 | 58 | 47 |
| Rain (in) | 3.4 | 3.6 | 4.8 | 5.3 | 5.3 | 3.9 | 4.3 | 3.4 | 3.3 | 3.7 | 4.6 | 4.1 |
September is the driest month (3.3 in) and July the warmest (highs of 90 °F). 5.3 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 90 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Duck Creek Township →
Next door
Duck Creek Township and its neighbors
Duck Creek Township 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Duck Creek Township | 16% | 0.7 | under 1 | under 1% | C+ |
| Liberty Township | 6% | 1.3 | 6 | 36% | B |
| New Lisbon Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Castor Township | 1% | 0.3 | under 1 | 1% | D |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Duck Creek Township
Where can I hike in Duck Creek Township?
The longest trail networks: Mingo National Wildlife Refuge, 6 miles; Mingo Wilderness, 0.9 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Duck Creek Township is conserved land?
16% of its land, against a typical 2% for a Missouri town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Duck Creek Township’s trails?
Mingo National Wildlife Refuge and Mingo Wilderness don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Duck Creek Township?
24,590 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Duck Creek Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), almost none of it inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Duck Creek Township have?
Ahead of 35% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #169 of 247 in Missouri. 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 Duck Creek 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 →