Otter Creek Trail Park
Park
69 acres2.5 mi of trail
Creek's Edge TrailFeel The Burn TrailFriendly TrailDeep Woods Trail+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: No machine-readable author provided. Autoshade~commonswiki assumed (based on copyright claims). · CC BY-SA 3.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Altoona
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park in Altoona
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park. 12 miles of mapped trail cross Altoona, 2.2 per square mile of land. 382 acres are parks and preserves, 43 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 90% of U.S. towns · #51 of 362 in Wisconsin. What drives it
Conserved land
2%
60 acres · of 5.2 sq mi of land
Trails
12 mi
2.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
382 ac
43 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
12 mi
2.2 mi lanes · 10 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
1 beach · 2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Altoona?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Altoona have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Altoona is ahead of 90% of U.S. towns, #51 of 362 in Wisconsin. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Altoona’s overall grade.
Conserved land2% of the land · typical WI town 4% · U.S. 4%C+Trails2.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (12 mi) · WI 0.4 · U.S. 0.4APark land43 acres of park per 1,000 residents (382 acres) · WI 31 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to homeVirtually all residents within a half mile of a park · WI 90% · U.S. 72%A+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 90%
LessMore
Wisconsin towns of 2,500+ (362)Ahead of 86%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from A− to A+. 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 Otter Creek Trail Park, with 2.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Lake Altoona County Park
Managed by Eau Claire County
24 acres1.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Centennial Park
Park
6 acres0.4 mi of trail
Watch For Deer Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Hillcrest Mobile Dog Park
Park
4 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 18 parks & preserves
Otter Creek Trail Park69 acres · 2.5 mi of trail
DirectionsCinder City Park33 acres · 1.5 mi of trail
DirectionsLake Altoona County Park24 acres · 1.5 mi of trail · Eau Claire County
DirectionsFairway Park70 acres · 0.8 mi of trail
DirectionsCentennial Park6 acres · 0.4 mi of trail
DirectionsLake Front Park6 acres · 0.4 mi of trail
DirectionsHillcrest Mobile Dog Park4 acres · 0.4 mi of trail
DirectionsHillcrest Mobile Park3 acres · 0.4 mi of trail
DirectionsLake Altoona Trail22 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsAltoona City Park8 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsFront Porch Plaza8 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · City of Altoona
DirectionsRiver Prairie Park42 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsTower Park15 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsDevney Park5 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsLake Road Trail17 acres
DirectionsJellybean Hill11 acres
DirectionsHighland Park2 acres
Playground1 acres
Who protects it
60 conserved acres
2% of Altoona’s land. Who manages Altoona’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city47 ac
County13 ac
Local Park · 34 acLocal Recreation Area · 26 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cindy City Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 26 | Open |
| Altoona Park Local Park | County | 13 | Open |
| Altoona City Park Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| Devney Park Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Open |
| Centennial Park Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Open |
| Lake Front Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Highland Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
Things to do
13 places to go in Altoona
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Altoona
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Altoona
9 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Altoona
2 boat launches without a name on the map.
Picnic areas in Altoona
1 picnic area without a name on the map.
Trails & water
10 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 3.1 miUnpaved · 4.2 mi
Creek's Edge Trail1.0 mi
Feel The Burn Trail0.4 mi
Watch For Deer Trail0.3 mi
Mill Run Trail0.2 mi
Friendly Trail0.2 mi
Hazen's Hill Trail0.2 mi
Underpass Trail0.2 mi
Deep Woods Trail0.2 mi
Bypass Trail0.2 mi
Jump It! Trail0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
12 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
2.2 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
10 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
10Tennis
5Basketball
2Baseball
1Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The walking year in Altoona
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) | 9.1 | 10.4 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.8 | 15.6 | 15.3 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.5 | 8.8 |
| High (°F) | 24 | 29 | 42 | 56 | 69 | 78 | 82 | 80 | 72 | 58 | 42 | 29 |
| Rain (in) | 1.1 | 1.1 | 1.9 | 3.2 | 4.1 | 4.9 | 3.7 | 4.2 | 3.6 | 2.7 | 1.9 | 1.3 |
January is the driest month (1.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 4.9 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Altoona →
Next door
Altoona and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Altoona | 2% | 2.2 | 43 | 99%+ | A |
| Washington | 1% | 0.2 | 38 | 44% | C+ |
| Eau Claire | 6% | 1.5 | 29 | 93% | A |
| Seymour | 11% | 0.7 | 676 | 47% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Altoona
Where can I hike in Altoona?
The longest trail networks: Otter Creek Trail Park, 2.5 miles; Cinder City Park, 1.5 miles; Lake Altoona County Park, 1.5 miles; Fairway Park, 0.8 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Altoona is conserved land?
2% of its land, against a typical 4% for a Wisconsin town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Altoona’s trails?
Otter Creek Trail Park and Cinder City Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Altoona?
12 miles of bike routes are on the map: 2.2 of painted or protected lanes and 10 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Altoona?
10,579 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Altoona or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 382 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Altoona have?
Ahead of 90% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #51 of 362 in Wisconsin. 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 Altoona 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 →