Circus World Museum
Managed by Wisconsin Historical Society
54 acres0.8 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Island Woolen Company Office Building · Photo: Tgkrause · CC BY-SA 3.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Baraboo
5% of Baraboo’s land is conserved, and 96% of residents live within a half mile of a park
6.5 miles of mapped trail cross Baraboo, 0.9 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Circus World Museum (0.8 mi), Sauk County Fairgrounds (0.6 mi). 5% of Baraboo’s land is conserved, about 241 acres.
Ahead of 81% of U.S. towns · #101 of 362 in Wisconsin. What drives it
Conserved land
5%
241 acres · of 7.6 sq mi of land
Trails
6.5 mi
0.9 per sq mi of land
Park land
215 ac
17 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
96%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
8.1 mi
1.9 mi lanes · 5.3 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Baraboo?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Baraboo have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Baraboo is ahead of 81% of U.S. towns, #101 of 362 in Wisconsin. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of residents near a park ranks highest, park acres per resident lowest.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Baraboo’s overall grade.
Conserved land5% of the land · typical WI town 4% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.9 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (7 mi) · WI 0.4 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land17 acres of park per 1,000 residents (215 acres) · WI 31 · U.S. 13BParks close to home96% of residents within a half mile of a park · WI 90% · U.S. 72%A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 81%
LessMore
Wisconsin towns of 2,500+ (362)Ahead of 72%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ 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 Circus World Museum, with 0.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Sauk County Fairgrounds
Park
30 acres0.6 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Ochsner Park
Park
21 acres0.4 mi of trail
Ice Age Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Chief Naaga Kermani Park and Conservancy
Nature preserve
67 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 17 parks & preserves
Circus World Museum54 acres · 0.8 mi of trail · Wisconsin Historical Society
DirectionsSauk County Fairgrounds30 acres · 0.6 mi of trail
DirectionsOchsner Park21 acres · 0.4 mi of trail
DirectionsPierce Park27 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsMary Hoppe Felts Park3 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Chief Naaga Kermani Park and Conservancy67 acres
Mary Rountree Evans Park14 acres
DirectionsSteinhorst Park13 acres
DirectionsAttridge Park8 acres
City View Park8 acres
Campbell Park6 acres
DirectionsStatz Park4 acres
DirectionsDeppe Park4 acres
DirectionsLanger Park3 acres
DirectionsWeber Park2 acres
Baraboo Kiwanis Riverwalk Park2 acres
DirectionsRitzenthaler Park1 acres
Who protects it
241 conserved acres
5% of Baraboo’s land. Who manages Baraboo’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Private owners129 ac
Town or city113 ac
Private Park · 129 acLocal Park · 94 acLocal Recreation Area · 19 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baraboo Country Club Private Park | Private owners | 129 | Restricted |
| Pierce Park Local Park | Town or city | 25 | Open |
| Ochsner Park & Zoo Local Park | Town or city | 21 | Open |
| Steinhorst Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 15 | Open |
| Mary Rountree Evans Park Local Park | Town or city | 12 | Open |
| Attridge Park Local Park | Town or city | 8 | Open |
| City View Park Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| Campbell Park Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Open |
| Deppe Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Statz Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 3 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
12 places to go in Baraboo
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Baraboo
8 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Baraboo
Baraboo Dog Park
DirectionsPicnic areas in Baraboo
2 picnic areas without a name on the map.
Disc golf in Baraboo
Frisbee/Disc Golf Course (start)
DirectionsTrails & water
1 named trail and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Ice Age Trail1.4 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
8.1 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.9 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
5.3 mi
off-road bike paths
0.9 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
14Tennis
8Baseball
5Beach volleyball
4Basketball
1Soccer
1Football
1Skate park
1Equestrian
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →17 places on the National Register, one a National Historic Landmark
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 1 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Albrecht C. Ringling HouseBuilding · listed 1976
About itRingling, Al, TheatreBuilding · listed 1976
About itSeven GablesBuilding · listed 1978
About itWilliam Clark HouseBuilding · listed 1980
About itBaraboo Public LibraryBuilding · listed 1981
About itSauk County CourthouseBuilding · listed 1982
About itManchester Street BridgeStructure · listed 1988
About itJacob Van Orden HouseBuilding · listed 1996
About itPorter, Walworth D., Duplex ResidenceBuilding · listed 1996
About itCharles Ringling HouseBuilding · listed 1997
About itThompson House HotelBuilding · listed 1997
About it5 more on the History page.
When to get out
September is the best month for walking in Baraboo
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) | 9.3 | 10.4 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.7 | 15.4 | 15.1 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 27 | 32 | 44 | 57 | 70 | 79 | 83 | 80 | 73 | 60 | 45 | 32 |
| Rain (in) | 1.3 | 1.3 | 2.2 | 3.9 | 4.2 | 5.2 | 4.3 | 4.2 | 3.7 | 2.8 | 2.2 | 1.7 |
January is the driest month (1.3 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 5.2 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Baraboo →
Next door
Baraboo and its neighbors
Baraboo has the most mapped trails of the 3 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baraboo | 5% | 0.9 | 17 | 96% | A− |
| West Baraboo | 1% | under 0.1 | 38 | 90% | C+ |
| Greenfield | — 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 Baraboo
Where can I hike in Baraboo?
The longest trail networks: Circus World Museum, 0.8 miles; Sauk County Fairgrounds, 0.6 miles; Ochsner Park, 0.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Baraboo is conserved land?
5% 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 Baraboo’s trails?
Circus World Museum and Sauk County Fairgrounds don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Baraboo?
8.1 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.9 of painted or protected lanes, 5.3 of off-road paths and 0.9 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Baraboo?
30,975 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Baraboo or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 215 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Baraboo have?
Ahead of 81% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #101 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 Baraboo 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 →