Public lands in Minnesota

18 units whose boundary reaches Minnesota. They are 13 national wildlife refuges, 3 wilderness areas and 2 national forests and grasslands, largest first within each type.

National wildlife refuges: 259,849 acres
Wilderness areas: 822,424 acres
National forests and grasslands: 5,484,899 acres

Each figure is the acreage inside Minnesota for one kind of unit, summed over the units listed below. A unit that crosses into another state counts only the part of its boundary that lies in Minnesota. Wilderness often lies inside one of the other kinds, so the figures overlap and should not be added together.

National wildlife refuges

All national wildlife refuges →

Refuge · USFWS

Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge

190,553 acres7 campgrounds near

Refuge · USFWS

Agassiz National Wildlife Refuge

61,880 acresNational Wildlife Refuge

Refuge · USFWS

Tamarac National Wildlife Refuge

42,412 acresNational Wildlife Refuge

Refuge · USFWS

Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge

30,680 acresNational Wildlife Refuge

Refuge · USFWS

Glacial Ridge National Wildlife Refuge

23,258 acresNational Wildlife Refuge

Refuge · USFWS

Rice Lake National Wildlife Refuge

18,088 acresNational Wildlife Refuge

Refuge · USFWS

Northern Tallgrass Prairie National Wildlife Refuge

17,231 acresAlso IA

Refuge · USFWS

Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge

14,802 acresNational Wildlife Refuge

Refuge · USFWS

Big Stone National Wildlife Refuge

11,921 acresNational Wildlife Refuge

Refuge · USFWS

Hamden Slough National Wildlife Refuge

3,441 acresNational Wildlife Refuge

Refuge · USFWS

Crane Meadows National Wildlife Refuge

2,204 acresNational Wildlife Refuge

Refuge · USFWS

Rydell National Wildlife Refuge

2,034 acresNational Wildlife Refuge

Show 1 more

Refuge · USFWS

Mille Lacs National Wildlife Refuge

0.3 acresNational Wildlife Refuge

Wilderness areas

All wilderness areas →

Wilderness · USFS

Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness

816,244 acres32 campgrounds near

Wilderness · USFWS

Agassiz Wilderness

4,000 acresWilderness

Wilderness · USFWS

Tamarac Wilderness

2,180 acresWilderness

National forests and grasslands

All national forests and grasslands →

Superior National Forest

3.9 million acres40 campgrounds near

Chippewa National Forest

1.6 million acres22 campgrounds near

Boundaries come from the agencies’ own layers. A unit is listed in every state or territory its boundary reaches. Data refreshed November 1, 2026.