McDowell Dam Recreation Area
Park
154 acres3.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
BOutdoors
Outdoors in Gibbs Township
Gibbs Township has 159 acres of parks, 56 for every 1,000 residents
30 miles of mapped trail cross Gibbs Township, 0.9 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: McDowell Dam Recreation Area (3.4 mi), Robert W. Henderson Wildlife Management Area (1.1 mi). 13% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 62% of U.S. towns · #11 of 23 in North Dakota. What drives it
Conserved land
4%
874 acres · of 34.4 sq mi of land
Trails
30 mi
0.9 per sq mi of land
Park land
159 ac
56 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
13%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
1
1 beach · 1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Gibbs Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Gibbs Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Gibbs Township is ahead of 62% of U.S. towns, #11 of 23 in North Dakota. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Gibbs Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land4% of the land · typical ND town 3% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.9 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (30 mi) · ND 0.7 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land56 acres of park per 1,000 residents (159 acres) · ND 10 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home13% of residents within a half mile of a park · ND 71% · U.S. 72%C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 62%
LessMore
North Dakota towns of 2,500+ (23)Ahead of 55%
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
The longest trail network is McDowell Dam Recreation Area, with 3.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Robert W. Henderson Wildlife Management Area
Managed by North Dakota Game and Fish Department
571 acres1.1 mi of trail
132nd Street Northeast
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Apple Valley Community Park
Park
3 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
874 conserved acres
4% of Gibbs Township’s land. Who manages Gibbs Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State fish & wildlife555 ac
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service323 ac
State Conservation Area · 555 acConservation Easement · 316 acResource Management Area · 7 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 315 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Robert W. Henderson State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 555 | Restricted |
| Burleigh County Waterfowl Production Area Resource Management Area | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 7 | Restricted |
Things to do
4 places to go in Gibbs Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Gibbs Township
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Gibbs Township
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Gibbs Township
1 boat launch without a name on the map.
Trails & water
7 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 23.8 mi
30th Avenue Northeast1.7 mi
17th Avenue Northeast0.9 mi
5th Avenue Northeast0.8 mi
57th Avenue Northeast0.7 mi
132nd Street Northeast0.4 mi
43rd Avenue Northeast0.4 mi
66th Street Northeast0.3 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
When to get out
The best walking months in Gibbs Township: August and September
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) | 8.9 | 10.2 | 11.8 | 13.5 | 15.0 | 15.8 | 15.5 | 14.2 | 12.5 | 10.8 | 9.3 | 8.5 |
| High (°F) | 22 | 26 | 39 | 55 | 67 | 77 | 83 | 82 | 73 | 56 | 39 | 26 |
| Rain (in) | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.8 | 1.3 | 2.6 | 3.3 | 3.0 | 2.2 | 1.6 | 1.4 | 0.6 | 0.6 |
February is the driest month (0.4 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 3.3 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Gibbs Township →
Next door
Gibbs Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Bismarck41 miNaughton Township32 miGibbs Township30 miApple Creek Township23 miMenoken Township23 miHay Creek Township13 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gibbs Township | 4% | 0.9 | 56 | 13% | B |
| Bismarck | 8% | 1.1 | 27 | 94% | A |
| Menoken Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Naughton Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Hay Creek Township | under 1% | 0.6 | 5 | 18% | C− |
| Apple Creek Township | 2% | 0.7 | under 1 | 10% | C |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Gibbs Township
Where can I hike in Gibbs Township?
The longest trail networks: McDowell Dam Recreation Area, 3.4 miles; Robert W. Henderson Wildlife Management Area, 1.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Gibbs Township is conserved land?
4% of its land, against a typical 3% for a North Dakota town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Gibbs Township’s trails?
McDowell Dam Recreation Area and Robert W. Henderson Wildlife Management Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Gibbs Township?
9,989 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Gibbs Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 160 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Gibbs Township have?
Ahead of 62% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #11 of 23 in North Dakota. 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 Gibbs 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 →