Baker Wetlands
Managed by Baker University
1,001 acres8.3 mi of trail
Diagonal TrailRed LoopNorth TrailBoardwalk Trail
Dogs on leash
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: Bhall87 · CC BY-SA 3.0BOutdoors
Outdoors in Wakarusa Township
Wakarusa Township has 221 acres of parks, 95 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Baker Wetlands (8.3 mi). 24% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 18 miles of mapped trail cross Wakarusa Township, 0.4 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 57% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
3%
862 acres · of 41.3 sq mi of land
Trails
18 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
221 ac
95 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
24%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
7.0 mi
1.9 mi lanes · 5.2 mi paths
Highest peak
1,043 ft
Blue Mound
Lakes & rivers
13
1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Wakarusa Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Wakarusa Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Wakarusa Township is ahead of 57% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Wakarusa Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land3% of the land · typical KS town 2% · U.S. 4%B−Trails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (18 mi) · KS 0.2 · U.S. 0.4BPark land95 acres of park per 1,000 residents (221 acres) · KS 13 · U.S. 13AParks close to home24% of residents within a half mile of a park · KS 76% · U.S. 72%C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 57%
LessMore
Few Kansas towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Wakarusa Township’s 3% is ahead of 70% of Kansas towns, while its trails per square mile lead 64% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to B+. Trails and many small parks come from OpenStreetMap, mapped by volunteers, so coverage varies from town to town; the half mile is a straight line from each census block, so a river or highway in the way isn’t counted against it.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
The map
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Easements protect land from building but are usually private.© OpenStreetMap contributors · USGS PAD-US
Places to walk
Pick a walk
The longest trail network is Baker Wetlands, with 8.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Outlet Park
Managed by City of Lawrence
24 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Wells Overlook Park
Managed by Douglas County
17 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Lawrence Nature Park
Managed by City of Lawrence
6 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 7 parks & preserves
Baker Wetlands1,001 acres · 8.3 mi of trail · Baker University
DirectionsWells Overlook Park17 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Douglas County
DirectionsRiverfront Park2 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsKanza Southwind Nature Preserve1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · City of Lawrence
Outlet Park24 acres · City of Lawrence
Lawrence Nature Park6 acres · City of Lawrence
Sesquicentennial Point2 acres
Who protects it
862 conserved acres
3% of Wakarusa Township’s land. Who manages Wakarusa Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Private owners561 ac
Army Corps of Engineers189 ac
Town or city167 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits58 ac
Private Conservation · 561 acRecreation Management Area · 189 acLocal Conservation Area · 118 acUnknown Easement · 58 acLocal Park · 49 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 58 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 8 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baker University Wetlands Private Conservation | Private owners | 561 | Closed |
| Clinton Recreation Area Recreation Management Area | Army Corps of Engineers | 189 | Open |
| Unknown Park Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 118 | Open |
| Future Park (Undeveloped) Local Park | Town or city | 36 | Unknown |
| Riverfront Park Local Park | Town or city | 10 | Open |
| Prairie Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Lawrence Nature Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
5 places to go in Wakarusa Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Wakarusa Township
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Wakarusa Township
1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Peaks in Wakarusa Township
Blue Mound1,043 ft elevation
DirectionsShank Hill997 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
5 named trails and 13 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 8.3 miUnpaved · 8.9 mi
Diagonal Trail2.5 mi
Red Loop1.5 mi
North Trail0.7 mi
Boardwalk Trail0.5 mi
Lawrence River Trail0.1 mi
Biking & sports
7.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.9 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
5.2 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
1Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Upper Wakarusa River CrossingSite · listed 2014
About itWhen to get out
April is the best month for walking in Wakarusa Township
NOAA’s 1991–2020 normals for the town and the daylight at its latitude. Outlined months have long days, highs of 59 to 86 °F and little rain for the place.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 9.7 | 10.7 | 11.8 | 13.2 | 14.3 | 14.9 | 14.6 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.0 | 9.4 |
| High (°F) | 40 | 46 | 57 | 67 | 76 | 85 | 90 | 89 | 80 | 68 | 55 | 43 |
| Rain (in) | 1.0 | 1.5 | 2.3 | 3.8 | 5.1 | 5.5 | 4.3 | 4.5 | 3.8 | 3.1 | 2.0 | 1.6 |
January is the driest month (1.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 90 °F). 5.5 inches fall in June, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 90 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Wakarusa Township →
Next door
Wakarusa Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Lawrence46 miClinton Township36 miWakarusa Township18 miGrant Township7.1 miPalmyra Township3.7 miRural Township1.2 miEudora Township1.1 miWillow Springs Township1.0 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wakarusa Township | 3% | 0.4 | 95 | 24% | B |
| Lawrence | 13% | 1.3 | 29 | 89% | A |
| Grant Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Rural Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Eudora Township | under 1% | under 0.1 | 11 | 73% | C |
| Palmyra Township | 2% | under 0.1 | 127 | 61% | B− |
| Clinton Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Willow Springs Township | under 1% | under 0.1 | under 1 | 3% | D− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Wakarusa Township
Where can I hike in Wakarusa Township?
The longest trail networks: Baker Wetlands, 8.3 miles; Wells Overlook Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Wakarusa Township is conserved land?
3% of its land, against a typical 2% for a Kansas town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Wakarusa Township’s trails?
OpenStreetMap records dogs as welcome at Baker Wetlands (on leash). For the rest, check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Wakarusa Township?
7.0 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.9 of painted or protected lanes and 5.2 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Wakarusa Township?
14,930 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Wakarusa Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 279 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Wakarusa Township have?
Ahead of 57% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade. The grade combines the share of land that is conserved, miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, park acres per 1,000 residents and the share of residents within a half mile of a park. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Trail talk
Conditions, parking and favorite walks from Wakarusa Township neighbors.
Share a tip
Sources
Where this page comes from
Conserved and public land: USGS Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US), service updated July 2026. Parks, trails, playgrounds, beaches and other places: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), map data as of 2026-10-28. Land and water area: Census 2025 Gazetteer. Residents near a park: 2020 Census blocks. National Register: National Park Service. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →