Watkins MHC Watkins, Minnesota
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Watkins & the lakes

A town of 991, with a 520-acre lake down the road.

Watkins is a small Meeker County town with a big share of things to do: a heated pool, a winter rink, two ballparks and an August festival, plus Clear Lake three miles south. Source: U.S. Census 2020, via Wikipedia (opens in a new tab) (accessed Sept 2026)

Four seasons in Watkins

Pool in July. Rink in January.

The city runs the pool and the rink. Meeker County runs the park on Clear Lake. The school is in town.

  1. Summer

    A heated town pool

    Heated, Junior Olympic-size outdoor pool with lifeguards and swim lessons, run by the City of Watkins. Then Kraut N’ Wurst Days takes the first Saturday of August, with a parade and a street dance in McCarthy Park.

    Source: City of Watkins, City services (archived) (opens in a new tab) (accessed Sept 2026)
    Source: City of Watkins, Kraut N' Wurst Days (archived) (opens in a new tab) (accessed Sept 2026)

  2. Lake days

    Clear Lake, three miles south

    A 520-acre lake with Meeker County’s Clear Lake Park on its shore: 34.4 acres with a fishing pier, boat landing, picnic shelters and hiking trails.

    Source: City of Watkins, Clear Lake County Park (archived) (opens in a new tab) (accessed Sept 2026)

  3. Fall

    School’s in town

    Watkins Elementary is in town and serves early childhood through kindergarten. Eden Valley-Watkins’ high school, about 10 minutes away in Eden Valley, has a 92% graduation rate (U.S. News).

    Source: City of Watkins, School system (archived) (opens in a new tab) (accessed Sept 2026)
    Source: U.S. News, Eden Valley Secondary (opens in a new tab) (accessed Sept 2026)

  4. Winter

    The town rink

    The City of Watkins runs a winter rink for open skating, hockey and broomball, with the Lions Club meeting there too.

    Source: City of Watkins, Skating rink (archived) (opens in a new tab) (accessed Sept 2026)

Illustrations These drawings show the town’s features. They are not photos of the community.

Lake country, measured honestly

Three lakes worth the drive.

One is three miles away. The other two are within about half an hour.

The drive

Small-town address. St. Cloud paycheck.

St. Cloud Hospital is about 27 miles from Watkins, a 30 to 40 minute drive, and it’s run by CentraCare.

CentraCare is St. Cloud’s largest employer, with about 7,540 workers. Source: St. Cloud Area Chamber, via KNSI (Aug 12, 2025) (opens in a new tab) (Aug 2025)

Closer to home, employers in Watkins include Centra Sota Cooperative, Ag Venture Feeds, Mies Outland and Hilltop Healthcare Center. Source: Meeker County EDA largest employers (opens in a new tab) (accessed Sept 2026)

Approximate distance and drive time from Watkins
From Watkins toMilesDrive
Clear Lake County Park 3 a few minutes
Kimball 6 about 10 min
Eden Valley 7 about 10 min
Cold Spring 11 about 20 min
Richmond, Horseshoe Chain of Lakes 16 about 25 min
Paynesville, Lake Koronis Regional Park 17 about 26 min
Litchfield, county seat 21 about 28 min
St. Cloud Hospital and downtown 27 30 to 40 min
Minneapolis 73 about 1.5 hr

Miles and times are estimates from route planners (OSRM, Travelmath), September 2026. Traffic and weather change them.

Map of the Watkins area Watkins sits between Eden Valley to the west and Kimball to the east. Clear Lake and its county park are just south. The drive to St. Cloud runs east to Kimball, then north. The Horseshoe Chain of Lakes is near Richmond and Cold Spring, Lake Koronis is near Paynesville, and Litchfield is to the south. KIMBALL EDEN VALLEY PAYNESVILLE RICHMOND COLD SPRING LITCHFIELD ST. CLOUD CENTRACARE HOSPITAL CLEAR LAKE PARK MINNEAPOLIS, ABOUT 1.5 HR → Lake Koronis Horseshoe Chain Clear Lake Watkins 05 MI N
Map Lakes and roads drawn from OpenStreetMap data (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); route geometry from OSRM. Simplified for orientation.

In town

What’s on the calendar.

Kraut N’ Wurst Days
The first Saturday of August: parade, street dance in McCarthy Park, plus Little Miss Watkins and the Cow Drop Raffle. Source: City of Watkins, Kraut N' Wurst Days (archived) (opens in a new tab) (accessed Sept 2026)
Ballparks
Clippers baseball park, plus a softball park with an accessible playground open all year. Source: City of Watkins, Softball park (archived) (opens in a new tab) (accessed Sept 2026)
Schools
Watkins Elementary is in town and serves early childhood through kindergarten. The Eden Valley-Watkins high school in Eden Valley has a 92% graduation rate, per U.S. News. Source: U.S. News, Eden Valley Secondary (opens in a new tab) (accessed Sept 2026)
Local news
The Eden Valley-Watkins Voice is the city’s official paper.
Nearby towns
Kimball and Eden Valley are each about 10 minutes away. Litchfield, the county seat, is about 28 minutes.

See the town and the lots in one afternoon.

Schedule a visit Text 1-800-209-1533