Lake Emily Park
Park
145 acres0.6 mi of trail
Nature TrailTomorrow River State Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Royalbroil · CC BY-SA 3.0B−Outdoors
Outdoors in Amherst
Amherst has 394 acres of parks, 252 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Lake Emily Park (0.6 mi). 1% of Amherst’s land is conserved, about 241 acres. 34% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 49% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
1%
241 acres · of 37.6 sq mi of land
Trails
10 mi
0.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
394 ac
252 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
34%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
9
1 beach
What kind of outdoors town is Amherst?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Amherst have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Amherst is ahead of 49% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
B−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Amherst’s overall grade.
Conserved land1% of the land · typical WI town 4% · U.S. 4%CTrails0.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (10 mi) · WI 0.4 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land252 acres of park per 1,000 residents (394 acres) · WI 31 · U.S. 13AParks close to home34% of residents within a half mile of a park · WI 90% · U.S. 72%C
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 49%
LessMore
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 Lake Emily Park, with 0.6 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Cate Park
Park
8 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
241 conserved acres
1% of Amherst’s land. Who manages Amherst’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources259 ac
State Recreation Area · 147 acState Park · 68 acConservation Easement · 24 acState Conservation Area · 19 acRecreation or Education Easement · 1 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 25 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rem-Peterson And Sannes Creek State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 87 | Open |
| Tomorrow River State Trail State Park | State natural resources | 68 | Open |
| Richard A Hemp Fishery Area State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 41 | Open |
| Stream Bank Protection Fee Program State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 19 | Open |
| Stream Bank Protection Fee Program - Wd State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 19 | Open |
Things to do
3 places to go in Amherst
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Amherst
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Amherst
1 playground without a name on the map.
Campgrounds in Amherst
Lake Emily Park North CampgroundFee · In Lake Emily Park · Portage County Parks
DirectionsTrails & water
3 named trails and 9 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 5.4 miUnpaved · 5.4 mi
Tomorrow River State Trail5.4 mi
Tomorrow River Trail1.1 mi
Nature Trail0.3 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Tomorrow River State TrailBike route
5.4 miCourts & fields
1Basketball
1Volleyball
1Baseball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The walking year in Amherst
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) | 9.2 | 10.4 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.8 | 15.5 | 15.2 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.5 | 8.8 |
| High (°F) | 24 | 29 | 41 | 55 | 68 | 77 | 81 | 79 | 71 | 57 | 42 | 29 |
| Rain (in) | 1.2 | 1.1 | 1.9 | 3.2 | 3.9 | 4.7 | 3.7 | 3.9 | 3.5 | 2.8 | 1.9 | 1.6 |
February is the driest month (1.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 81 °F). 4.7 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Amherst →
Next door
Amherst and its neighbors
Amherst has the second most mapped trails of the 6 towns around it. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amherst | 1% | 0.3 | 252 | 34% | B− |
| Nelsonville | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Stockton | under 1% | 0.4 | 270 | 17% | B− |
| Lanark | 1% | 0.2 | 52 | 17% | C |
| New Hope | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Scandinavia | 8% | 0.2 | 350 | 22% | B |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Amherst
Where can I hike in Amherst?
The longest trail networks: Lake Emily Park, 0.6 miles; Cate Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Amherst is conserved land?
1% 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 Amherst’s trails?
Lake Emily Park and Amherst Fairgrounds don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Amherst?
11,979 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Amherst or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 394 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Amherst have?
Ahead of 49% 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 Amherst 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 →