Hayward Minnesota Map
Explore Hayward, Minnesota, with this interactive street and satellite map.
This page also offers TOPO MAPS — the official USGS topographic sheets — plus USGS aerial imagery, a labelled USNG grid overlay, a distance and bearing tool, and a GPS grid-reference readout. See How to Use This Map below.
Interactive Map of Hayward, Minnesota
How to Use This Hayward, Minnesota Map
This interactive map shows the street layout and satellite imagery for Hayward, Minnesota. Use the Map and Satellite buttons above to switch between street map and aerial imagery views. Use the + and − buttons to zoom in or out, or scroll your mouse wheel while holding the Control key to zoom. On a touchscreen, use a two-finger pinch gesture. Drag the map to pan to any area of Minnesota or beyond.
Click ⛶ Fullscreen to expand the map to fill your screen. To return to the normal page view, press the Escape key, click the ✕ Exit Fullscreen button that appears above the map, or on a mobile device tap the back button (Android) or the close icon (iOS).
TOPO MAPS — NEW. Click the green 🔍 Search Maps button below the map to open a second map with a Base map row offering three choices. OSM is the standard OpenStreetMap street map. Topo shows the official USGS topographic maps from The National Map — contours, hydrography, land cover and shaded relief, the same mapping used for hiking, hunting and back-country navigation in the Adirondacks, the Catskills and the Finger Lakes. Imagery shows USGS aerial photography, mostly 1-metre NAIP. The search box finds any US town, county or landmark by name, so you are not limited to Hayward.
Reading the map like a paper quad. Click Grid to overlay the U.S. National Grid (USNG), labelled along the edges exactly as a printed topographic sheet is — at normal zoom the squares are one kilometre across, so you can read a six-figure grid reference by eye and judge distance directly off the map. Click Measure, then tap two points, to get the distance between them together with the grid bearing in degrees and mils, the true bearing, and the magnetic bearing to set on a compass.
Click 📍 My position to take a single GPS reading from your device. It marks where you are and reports your position as a USNG grid reference as well as plain latitude and longitude — USNG being the format FEMA and US search and rescue teams work from — with a Copy position button so you can paste it straight into a text message. It takes one reading and stops, rather than tracking continuously, to conserve your battery. Note that map tiles need cell coverage, but a GPS reading does not — your coordinates stay correct even where the map itself cannot load.
| City | Hayward |
| State | Minnesota (MN) |
| County | Freeborn County |
| Country | United States of America |
| Timezone | Central Time (America/Chicago) |
| Latitude | 43.650514 |
| Longitude | -93.244094 |
| Population | 252 |
| Density | 159.8 /km² |
| Incorporated | Yes |
| ZIP Code | 56043 |
| Area Code | 320 |
| County Seat | Albert Lea |
| School District | Albert Lea Public School District |
About Hayward, Minnesota
Hayward is a locality in Freeborn County, Minnesota, United States. It is a small community with a population of 252. The population density is 159.8 people per km². Hayward is located at 43.6505°N, 93.2441°W. It observes the Central Time (America/Chicago) timezone. Hayward is an incorporated locality. ZIP code: 56043.Hayward occupies a stretch of fertile, level prairie where the expansive horizon dictates the pace of the day. It lies 6.2 miles east of Albert Lea, MN (from Albert Lea, MN: bearing 88°T), and is situated 13.5 miles west of Austin. The landscape around Hayward remains defined by the persistent influence of ancient glaciers, which left behind a flat, productive expanse of earth that catches the low-slung, amber light of autumn afternoons. Just a mile away, the quiet waters of Albert Lea Lake mirror the vast, cloud-swept sky, while the subtle, winding course of Peter Lund Creek carves a path through the tall grasses. Though the dense, shadowed canopy of Hartland Forest lies twelve miles to the north, the immediate vicinity remains open, favoring the wide, unencumbered views that characterize this inland reach of the continent.
Agriculture serves as the bedrock of the local economy, with the rhythm of planting and harvest cycles anchoring the lives of those who dwell in Hayward. The proximity to Myre-Big Island State Park, situated only two miles away, offers a preserved glimpse into the native ecology that once blanketed this entire region before the arrival of the plow. Settlers of Scandinavian descent helped organize the early character of the region, leaving a legacy of sturdy, utilitarian architecture and a quiet, reserved temperament that persists in the way the land is worked today. Life here moves in steady alignment with the seasonal shifts, from the deep, frozen silence of winter to the sudden, vigorous green of spring, maintaining a focused connection to the soil that sustains the community.
Nearby Outdoor Places
- Myre-Big Island State Park (State Park) — 1.9 mi, 261° W
- Freeborn County Waterfowl Production Area (Resource Management Area) — 4.5 mi, 277° W
- Snyder Fields (Local Recreation) — 5.8 mi, 288° W
- Freeborn County Historical Society Museum (Museum) — 5.8 mi, 277° W
- Lincoln Park (Local Park) — 5.8 mi, 272° W
- Mall Cinema 7 Theatre (Cinema) — 6.0 mi, 291° W
- Bancroft Bay (Local Park) — 6.2 mi, 285° W
- Freeborn County Courthouse (Monument) — 6.2 mi, 268° W
- Myrtle Museum (Museum) — 7.2 mi, 146° SE
- Carex State Wildlife Management Area (State Conservation Area) — 8.8 mi, 062° NE
- Panicum Prairie State Wildlife Management Area (State Conservation Area) — 9.7 mi, 198° S
- Worth County Waterfowl Production Area (Resource Management Area) — 11.0 mi, 187° S
- Minnesota Welcomes You (Monument) — 11.5 mi, 209° SW
- Thanks for Visiting Minnesota (Monument) — 11.6 mi, 209° SW
- Summerset Theater (Theatre) — 12.6 mi, 082° E
- Mower County Historical Society Exhibits (Museum) — 12.7 mi, 087° E
- Rydjor Bike Museum (Museum) — 13.5 mi, 085° E
- Worth County Historical Museum (Museum) — 14.3 mi, 175° S
- Buddy Holly Crash Site (Public Artwork) — 30.5 mi, 193° S
- Brewery (Historic Ruins) — 32.3 mi, 175° S
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About This Hayward Map Page
This page provides an embedded street and satellite map of Hayward, Minnesota. Coordinates: 43.650514, -93.244094. Live weather conditions are sourced directly from the National Weather Service. Real-time local and world news feeds keep the page current.
Detailed location data for Hayward includes the ZIP code (56043), telephone area code (320), county seat of Freeborn County (Albert Lea), and school district assignment (Albert Lea Public School District).
Search Maps opens a second, independent map. It searches OpenStreetMap for any US town, county or landmark by name; offers USGS topographic maps and USGS aerial imagery as base layers; overlays a labelled U.S. National Grid (USNG) so the map can be read like a printed topographic quad; measures distance and grid, true and magnetic bearings between any two points; and takes a single GPS fix reporting your position as a USNG grid reference and as latitude and longitude. Map tiles require cell coverage, but a GPS position does not, so the coordinates remain correct even where the map cannot load.
Location data is drawn from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) and cross-verified against 2020 US Census records by coordinate proximity. Population figures are sourced from the 2020 US Census.
| Page generated | September 2026 |
| Location data | SimpleMaps US Cities Database; coordinates matched to USGS GNIS definitive data |
| Map layers | Google Maps; © OpenStreetMap contributors; USGS The National Map topographic and aerial imagery (public domain); magnetic declination from NOAA NCEI (World Magnetic Model) |
| Wikipedia validation | Article content matched to USGS GNIS coordinates via Wikipedia geosearch API. |
