Land area: 79,610.08 sq. mi.
Water area: 7,328.79 sq. mi.
Total area: 86,938.87 sq. mi.
State length: 406 miles
State width: 348 miles
Lowest point: Lake Superior shore - 602 ft.
Highest point: Eagle Mountain, Cook County - 2301 ft.
Average mean altitude: 1200 ft.
Largest County: St. Louis - 6,125 sq. mi.
Smallest County: Ramsey - 154 sq. mi.
State-Owned Lands Managed by the DNR
as of May 2022
| DNR Management Program |
Approx. Acres Managed |
| State Forests |
3,169,600 |
| Wildlife Management Areas |
1,270,700 |
| Other Areas Managed for Forestry |
703,600 |
| State Parks and Recreation Areas |
239,700 |
| Scientific & Natural Areas |
186,000 |
| Aquatic and Fish Management Areas |
31,700 |
| State Trails |
11,800 |
| Other Areas Managed for Wildlife |
11,800 |
| Building Sites and Undesignated Lands |
11,100 |
| Mineral Lands |
3,700 |
| Water Access Sites |
3,100 |
| Wild and Scenic Rivers |
1,500 |
| Water Management Areas (Dams) |
800 |
| Water Trails |
700 |
| Wetland Bank Projects |
300 |
| Total DNR managed acres |
5,646,100 |
Source: DNR Land Records Database
The DNR also administers state mineral rights underlying approximately 13.5 million acres. DNR has administrative responsibility to manage trust lands (in FY21 a total of $22.8 million was deposited in the Permanent School Fund), and to make PILT (Payments in Lieu of Taxes) payments to the counties, which totaled about $36.0 million for 2020 (payable in 2021).
(Updated May 2022)
