USFWS · Minnesota

Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge

The Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge is a 14,000-acre (5,666-hectare) National Wildlife Refuge in eastern and central Minnesota. Located just south of the city of Minneapolis, it is one of fourteen Regional Priority Urban Wildlife Refuges in the nation. Many parts of the refuge are near large establishments of Minneapolis–Saint Paul; the Bloomington Education and Visitor Center and two trailheads are located just blocks from the Mall of America, the Wilkie Unit is just east of Valleyfair, and the Louisville Swamp Unit is just south of the Minnesota Renaissance Festival.

From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

National Wildlife Refuge14,802 acresUSFWSMN
Official page at U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ↗
Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge
Photo by U.S. Department of the Interior, licensed CC BY-SA 2.0, from Wikimedia Commons.
2 fires
active
Smsc Prescribed Burn Rx (prescribed burn) · 5 mi from the center · 85 acres
1 more within 50 miles
Incident details ↓

Facts

Where each comes from ↓
DesignationNational Wildlife Refuge
Managed byU.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
StateMinnesota
Size14,802 acres
FWS regionRegion 3
Center point44.80° N, 93.40° W
Night skyBright skies nearby (Black Marble reading 195)

Boundary map

32 outlines

Boundary, simplified to about 0.005 degrees

The outline is the agency boundary simplified for display, so small parcels and inholdings may not show. The agency page has the authoritative map.

Weather by month

NOAA climate normals →
Weather by month near Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge10°20°30°40°50°60°70°80°January: 0.69 inches of precipitationFebruary: 0.62 inches of precipitationMarch: 1.46 inches of precipitationApril: 2.73 inches of precipitationMay: 3.85 inches of precipitationJune: 4.67 inches of precipitationJuly: 4.34 inches of precipitationAugust: 4.66 inches of precipitationSeptember: 3.05 inches of precipitationOctober: 2.26 inches of precipitationNovember: 1.41 inches of precipitationDecember: 0.90 inches of precipitationJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJanuary: 16.1°F averageFebruary: 20.0°F averageMarch: 33.1°F averageApril: 47.1°F averageMay: 59.7°F averageJune: 69.4°F averageJuly: 73.8°F averageAugust: 71.4°F averageSeptember: 63.5°F averageOctober: 49.5°F averageNovember: 34.7°F averageDecember: 21.5°F average0 in1 in2 in3 in4 in5 inTemp °FInches
The line is the average temperature and the bars are average precipitation at Mpls Flying Cloud AP, 4 miles from the center point at 907 feet, station USW00094963 in the NOAA monthly climate normals for 1991 to 2020. Precipitation totals about 31 inches a year.

Large units span more than one climate. The station stands in for the center point, and the outer parts of the boundary can be warmer or colder.

Fire nearby

Within 50 miles · as of 2026-11-01
  • Prescribed
    Smsc Prescribed Burn Rx

    5 mi from the center point · 85 acres

  • Prescribed
    Rx-Clay Corners East

    45 mi from the center point · 32 acres

Distance is to the reported incident point, not the fire edge, and is measured from the center of a boundary that may be many miles across. Check the agency page for closures.

Explore

Nearby on the other atlases

National Park System units within 30 miles · Park Atlas
National River & Recreation Area · 8 mi
Mississippi National River & Recreation Area
National Register listings within 15 miles · 384 in all · Register Atlas

Landmarks are listed first, then by distance from the boundary.

Guidebooks for Minnesota

We earn a small commission if you buy through these links. It does not change what we list.

Titles come from Open Library's catalog, matched by subject heading or by title.

Reference

Questions people ask

How big is Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge?

14,802 acres.

Source: How acreage is computed

Who manages Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge?

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

What state is Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge in?

Minnesota.

Source: How states are assigned

How do I get to Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge?

A point inside the boundary is at 44.796° N, 93.405° W. Mississippi National River & Recreation Area is 8 miles away. The official page carries directions and the office address.

Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Is there a fire near Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge right now?

2 active incidents within 50 miles as of 2026-11-01, the nearest Smsc Prescribed Burn Rx at 5 miles. Distance is to the reported incident point, not the fire edge.

Source: Fire nearby

Which national parks are near Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge?

Mississippi National River & Recreation Area (8 mi). Park Atlas has fees, hours and alerts for each.

Source: Nearby on the other atlases

Are there historic places near Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge?

The National Register has 384 listings within 15 miles, including Christ Church Lutheran and Kellogg, Frank B., House.

Source: Register Atlas

Sources

  • Boundary, name: the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service refuge boundary layer.
  • States and territories: computed by intersecting the boundary with Census state polygons and coarse outlines of the territories and outlying islands. A place is listed when it holds at least one percent of the area. A boundary that touches no outline is listed under the nearest one.
  • Acreage: geodesic area of the published polygon. The agency’s official acreage can differ where the boundary includes water, easements or inholdings.
  • Photograph: the image Wikidata records for this refuge (Q6868605), the item linked to its Wikipedia article. Author and license come from the file page on Wikimedia Commons.
  • Description: Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. The article was accepted because its title contains this unit’s name.
  • Campgrounds: the Campsite Atlas index of federal campgrounds, matched to this boundary at build time.
  • Night sky: NASA Black Marble (VIIRS, 2016 composite) sampled at zoom 6 around the center point.
  • Weather, alerts, air quality, river flow and earthquakes load live in your browser from NWS, AirNow, USGS and iNaturalist when you open the page.