It is owned and operated by the University of Minnesota . Cedar Creek Natural History Area lies on a sandy outwash plain. Relief is slight, having an elevational gradient of only 10 meters. Uplands consist of fine, nutrient poor, outwash sand. Climate is continental.
Springs are short, cool, and rather wet.
Upland habitats include more than 100 fields that had been cleared for agricultural use, but the sterile soils soon resulted in abandonment of these fields. Sand Savanna are found on the area, and many of these are included in a burn program of varying fire frequency. Some of these had been grazed in the past. Four lakes occur on the Area. Fish Lake is a large shallow, sand-bottomed lake.