Leistikow Memorial Park
Managed by Grafton Parks and Recreation
41 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Andrew Filer · CC BY-SA 2.0B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Grafton
Grafton has 55 acres of parks, 13 for every 1,000 residents
4.6 miles of mapped trail cross Grafton, 1.4 per square mile of land. 88% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 2% of Grafton’s land is conserved, about 46 acres.
Ahead of 72% of U.S. towns · #6 of 23 in North Dakota. What drives it
Conserved land
2%
46 acres · of 3.3 sq mi of land
Trails
4.6 mi
1.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
55 ac
13 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
88%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
4.2 mi
4.2 mi paths
What kind of outdoors town is Grafton?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Grafton have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Grafton is ahead of 72% of U.S. towns, #6 of 23 in North Dakota. Trail miles hold the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Grafton’s overall grade.
Conserved land2% of the land · typical ND town 3% · U.S. 4%C+Trails1.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (5 mi) · ND 0.7 · U.S. 0.4APark land13 acres of park per 1,000 residents (55 acres) · ND 10 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to home88% of residents within a half mile of a park · ND 71% · U.S. 72%B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 72%
LessMore
North Dakota towns of 2,500+ (23)Ahead of 77%
Water is 7% of Grafton’s area (0 of 4 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 2%.
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 Leistikow Memorial Park, with 0.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
46 conserved acres
2% of Grafton’s land. Water is left out: Grafton has 3.3 square miles of land and 0.3 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Grafton’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city46 ac
Local Park · 35 acLocal Recreation Area · 11 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leistikow Memorial Park Local Park | Town or city | 24 | Open |
| Ab Happy Chandler Field Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 8 | Open |
| Happy Trails Bark Park Local Park | Town or city | 8 | Open |
| 8Th Street Ball Field Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Hill Avenue Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
Things to do
15 places to go in Grafton
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Grafton
12 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Grafton
Happy Tails Bark ParkIn Leistikow Memorial Park
DirectionsBoat launches in Grafton
1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Disc golf in Grafton
1 disc golf course without a name on the map.
Trails & water
1 named trail
Named trails
Unpaved · 4.3 mi
68th Street Northeast0.1 mi
Biking & sports
4.2 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
4.2 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
6Basketball
5Baseball
2Tennis
1Football
1Beach volleyball
1Soccer
1Hockey rinks
1Skate park
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →5 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
When to get out
The best walking months in Grafton: 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) | 8.7 | 10.1 | 11.7 | 13.6 | 15.2 | 16.1 | 15.7 | 14.3 | 12.5 | 10.7 | 9.1 | 8.3 |
| High (°F) | 14 | 20 | 34 | 52 | 67 | 77 | 81 | 80 | 70 | 54 | 35 | 21 |
| Rain (in) | 0.6 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 1.1 | 2.8 | 3.8 | 3.4 | 2.5 | 2.3 | 1.7 | 0.9 | 0.7 |
February is the driest month (0.5 in) and July the warmest (highs of 81 °F). 3.8 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Grafton →
Next door
Grafton 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grafton | 2% | 1.4 | 13 | 88% | B+ |
| Oakwood Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Grafton 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 Grafton
Where can I hike in Grafton?
The longest trail networks: Leistikow Memorial Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Grafton is conserved land?
2% 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 Grafton’s trails?
Leistikow Memorial Park doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Grafton?
4.2 miles of bike routes are on the map: 4.2 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Grafton?
227 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Grafton or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 55 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Grafton have?
Ahead of 72% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #6 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 Grafton 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 →