Photo: Bobak Ha'Eri · CC BY 3.0Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park in Athens
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park. 83 acres are parks and preserves, 79 per 1,000 residents. 0.1 miles of mapped trail cross Athens.
Ahead of 72% of U.S. towns. What drives it
What kind of outdoors town is Athens?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
How much outdoors does Athens have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Athens is ahead of 72% of U.S. towns. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Pick a walk
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Athens Park
Erbach Park
Memorial Park
All 5 parks & preserves
61 conserved acres
4% of Athens’ land. Who manages Athens’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Erbach Park Local Park | Town or city | 31 | Open |
| Athens County Park Local Park | County | 30 | Open |
1 places to go in Athens
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
0.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
The walking year in Athens
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 | 10.3 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.8 | 15.6 | 15.3 | 14.1 | 12.5 | 10.9 | 9.5 | 8.8 |
| High (°F) | 22 | 27 | 39 | 53 | 66 | 75 | 79 | 77 | 69 | 55 | 39 | 27 |
| Rain (in) | 1.1 | 1.1 | 1.7 | 2.9 | 3.7 | 4.6 | 3.8 | 3.8 | 3.9 | 3.0 | 1.8 | 1.4 |
February is the driest month (1.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 79 °F). 4.6 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Athens →
Athens and its neighbors
Athens has the second most mapped trails of the 4 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Athens | 4% | under 0.1 | 79 | 99%+ | B+ |
| Bern | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Johnson | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Halsey | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Athens
How much of Athens is conserved land?
4% 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 Athens’ trails?
Athens Village Forest and Athens Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Athens?
5,638 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Athens or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 83 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Athens have?
Ahead of 72% 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 Athens neighbors.
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 →