Northern Highland American Legion State Forest
Managed by Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
27,944 acres39.1 mi of trail
Red LoopBlue LoopYellow LoopGreen Loop+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trailheadWebsite ↗
C+Outdoors
Outdoors in Arbor Vitae
Arbor Vitae has 140 acres of parks, 40 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Northern Highland American Legion State Forest (39.1 mi). 45 miles of mapped trail cross Arbor Vitae, 0.7 per square mile of land. 11% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 44% of U.S. towns · #297 of 362 in Wisconsin. What drives it
Conserved land
1%
258 acres · of 61.5 sq mi of land
Trails
45 mi
0.7 per sq mi of land
Park land
140 ac
40 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
11%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.8 mi
0.8 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
47
2 beaches · 2 boat launches
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Arbor Vitae have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Arbor Vitae is ahead of 44% of U.S. towns, #297 of 362 in Wisconsin. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
C+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Arbor Vitae’s overall grade.
Conserved land1% of the land · typical WI town 4% · U.S. 4%CTrails0.7 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (45 mi) · WI 0.4 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land40 acres of park per 1,000 residents (140 acres) · WI 31 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home11% 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 44%
LessMore
Wisconsin towns of 2,500+ (362)Ahead of 18%
Water is 13% of Arbor Vitae’s area (9 of 71 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 1%.
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 Northern Highland American Legion State Forest, with 39.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Lakeland Union High School Forest
Nature preserve
42 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Vilas County Forest
Managed by Vilas County Forestry
14 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
All 5 parks & preserves
Northern Highland American Legion State Forest27,944 acres · 39.1 mi of trail · Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
DirectionsLakeland Union High School Forest42 acres
DirectionsBrandy Lake Park35 acres
DirectionsVilas County Forest14 acres · Vilas County Forestry
Brandy Lake Boat Landing1 acres
Who protects it
258 conserved acres
1% of Arbor Vitae’s land. Water is left out: Arbor Vitae has 61.5 square miles of land and 9.5 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Arbor Vitae’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources146 ac
Private owners104 ac
Town or city18 ac
Private Park · 99 acState Conservation Area · 87 acState Resource Management Area · 57 acLocal Park · 18 acForest Stewardship Easement · 5 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 2 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trout Lake Golf & Country Club Private Park | Private owners | 99 | Open |
| Statewide Habitat Areas State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 81 | Restricted |
| Scattered Forest Lands State Resource Management Area | State natural resources | 32 | Open |
| Brandy Lake Park Local Park | Town or city | 18 | Open |
| American Legion State Forest State Resource Management Area | State natural resources | 14 | Open |
| State Owned Islands - Nw State Resource Management Area | State natural resources | 6 | Open |
| State Owned Islands State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 6 | Open |
| Northern Highland State Forest State Resource Management Area | Private owners | 5 | Open |
| Statewide Public Access State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 1 | Open |
| Statewide Public Access - Nw State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 1 | Open |
1 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
16 places to go in Arbor Vitae
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Arbor Vitae
Brandy BeachIn Brandy Lake Park
DirectionsPlus 1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Arbor Vitae
1 playground without a name on the map.
Boat launches in Arbor Vitae
2 boat launches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Campgrounds in Arbor Vitae
Fox Fire Campground
DirectionsTrout Lake Canoe 1In Northern Highland American Legion State Forest · Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
DirectionsTrout Lake Canoe 2In Northern Highland American Legion State Forest · Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
DirectionsTrout Lake Canoe 3In Northern Highland American Legion State Forest · Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
DirectionsTrout River Canoe 27In Northern Highland American Legion State Forest · Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
DirectionsPlus 5 campgrounds without a name on the map.
Disc golf in Arbor Vitae
Brandy Lake Disc Golf CourseIn Brandy Lake Park
DirectionsTrails & water
5 named trails and 47 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 6.7 miUnpaved · 7.1 mi
Red Loop4.1 mi
Blue Loop0.9 mi
Yellow Loop0.8 mi
Green Loop0.4 mi
Snow Trail0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Arrowhead LakelakeBayer LakelakeBenedict LakeBig Arbor Vitae LakelakeBittersweet LakelakeBrandy LakelakeBug LakeButterfly LakelakeCamp LakelakeDevine LakeDiamond LakelakeDry LakeEast Ellerson LakelakeErickson LakelakeFaulkner LakelakeHalls LakelakeHarriet LakelakeHillis LakelakeHungry LakelakeHurrah LakelakeIla LakeJohnson LakelakeKlondike LakelakeLittle Arbor Vitae LakelakeLittle Bass LakelakeLittle Muskie LakelakeLittle Rock LakelakeLittle Spider LakelakeMielke LakelakeOberlin LakelakePauto LakeProng LakePunch LakelakeRoach LakeRoss LakelakeSafford LakelakeScaffold LakeSmith LakelakeSparkling LakelakeSumach LakelakeTowanda LakelakeTrilby LakelakeVandercook LakelakeVerna LakelakeWitches LakelakeTomahawk RiverTrout River
Biking & sports
0.8 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.8 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
7Soccer
2Baseball
2Tennis
1Skate park
1Basketball
1Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
August is the best month for walking in Arbor Vitae
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) | 9.0 | 10.3 | 11.8 | 13.5 | 14.9 | 15.7 | 15.4 | 14.1 | 12.5 | 10.8 | 9.4 | 8.7 |
| High (°F) | 21 | 26 | 37 | 50 | 65 | 74 | 77 | 75 | 67 | 53 | 37 | 26 |
| Rain (in) | 1.3 | 1.2 | 1.7 | 2.8 | 3.6 | 4.4 | 4.1 | 3.5 | 3.7 | 3.6 | 2.0 | 1.7 |
February is the driest month (1.2 in) and July the warmest (highs of 77 °F). 4.4 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Arbor Vitae →
Next door
Arbor Vitae and its neighbors
Arbor Vitae has the second most mapped trails of the 5 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arbor Vitae | 1% | 0.7 | 40 | 11% | C+ |
| Lac du Flambeau | 11% | 0.4 | 11 | 14% | B− |
| Woodruff | 73% | 1.3 | 152 | 58% | A |
| Boulder Junction | 1% | 0.9 | 80 | 27% | B− |
| St. Germain | 5% | 0.3 | 415 | 35% | B+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Arbor Vitae
Where can I hike in Arbor Vitae?
The longest trail networks: Northern Highland American Legion State Forest, 39.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Arbor Vitae 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 Arbor Vitae’s trails?
Northern Highland American Legion State Forest and Lakeland Union High School Forest don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Arbor Vitae?
0.8 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.8 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Arbor Vitae?
197,443 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Arbor Vitae or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 27,371 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Arbor Vitae have?
Ahead of 44% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #297 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 Arbor Vitae 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 →