Spread Eagle Barrens State Natural Area
Nature preserve
2,136 acres12.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
AOutdoors
Outdoors in Aurora
Aurora has 2,372 acres of parks, 2,761 for every 1,000 residents
21% of Aurora’s land is conserved, about 5,126 acres. 48 miles of mapped trail cross Aurora, 1.3 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Spread Eagle Barrens State Natural Area (12.5 mi), Florence County Forest (5 mi), Wilderness Shores Recreation Area (2.1 mi).
Ahead of 88% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
21%
5,126 acres · of 38.0 sq mi of land
Trails
48 mi
1.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
2,372 ac
2,761 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
28%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
5
What kind of outdoors town is Aurora?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Aurora have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Aurora is ahead of 88% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Aurora’s overall grade.
Conserved land21% of the land · typical WI town 4% · U.S. 4%ATrails1.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (48 mi) · WI 0.4 · U.S. 0.4APark land2,761 acres of park per 1,000 residents (2,372 acres) · WI 31 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home28% 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 88%
LessMore
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 Spread Eagle Barrens State Natural Area, with 12.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Florence County Forest
Nature preserve
2,273 acres5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Wilderness Shores Recreation Area
Nature preserve
686 acres2.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Marinette County Forest
Nature preserve
4 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
5,126 conserved acres
21% of Aurora’s land. Who manages Aurora’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources4,617 ac
County2,317 ac
Private owners1,045 ac
State Conservation Area · 4,906 acLocal Conservation Area · 2,317 acConservation Easement · 677 acState Resource Management Area · 37 acState Recreation Area · 37 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 5 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spread Eagle Barrens Natural Area State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 2,791 | Restricted |
| Florence County Forest Local Conservation Area | County | 2,313 | Open |
| Spread Eagle Barrens State Natural Area State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 2,116 | Restricted |
| Scattered Forest Lands State Resource Management Area | State natural resources | 37 | Open |
| No Bottom Lakestate Habitat Area State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 37 | Open |
| Marinette County Forest Local Conservation Area | County | 4 | Open |
Trails & water
5 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
When to get out
The best walking months in Aurora: May and August
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) | 23 | 28 | 39 | 52 | 66 | 76 | 80 | 77 | 69 | 55 | 40 | 28 |
| Rain (in) | 1.1 | 1.0 | 1.6 | 2.6 | 3.3 | 3.6 | 3.5 | 3.1 | 3.4 | 3.1 | 1.9 | 1.5 |
February is the driest month (1.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 80 °F). 3.6 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Aurora →
Next door
Aurora and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Florence180 miDunbar152 miHomestead76 miCommonwealth65 miBreitung Township61 miAurora48 miNiagara33 miKingsford0.7 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aurora | 21% | 1.3 | 2,761 | 28% | A |
| Florence | 59% | 1.2 | 3,120 | 41% | A |
| Homestead | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Dunbar | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Niagara | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Commonwealth | — 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 Aurora
Where can I hike in Aurora?
The longest trail networks: Spread Eagle Barrens State Natural Area, 12.5 miles; Florence County Forest, 5 miles; Wilderness Shores Recreation Area, 2.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Aurora is conserved land?
21% 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 Aurora’s trails?
Spread Eagle Barrens State Natural Area and Florence County Forest don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Aurora?
139,635 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Aurora or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 2,372 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Aurora have?
Ahead of 88% 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 Aurora 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 →