Saint Croix National Scenic Riverway
Managed by National Park Service
346 acres
Dogs usually limited
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
B−Outdoors
Outdoors in Bass Lake
Bass Lake has 751 acres of parks, 264 for every 1,000 residents
12% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 3.1 miles of mapped trail cross Bass Lake, 0.1 per square mile of land. 5% of Bass Lake’s land is conserved, about 1,433 acres.
Ahead of 46% of U.S. towns · #288 of 362 in Wisconsin. What drives it
Conserved land
5%
1,433 acres · of 46.0 sq mi of land
Trails
3.1 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
751 ac
264 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
12%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
23
What kind of outdoors town is Bass Lake?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Bass Lake have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Bass Lake is ahead of 46% of U.S. towns, #288 of 362 in Wisconsin. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Bass Lake’s overall grade.
Conserved land5% of the land · typical WI town 4% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (3 mi) · WI 0.4 · U.S. 0.4CPark land264 acres of park per 1,000 residents (751 acres) · WI 31 · U.S. 13AParks close to home12% 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 46%
LessMore
Wisconsin towns of 2,500+ (362)Ahead of 20%
Water is 25% of Bass Lake’s area (16 of 62 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 4%.
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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
1,433 conserved acres
5% of Bass Lake’s land. Water is left out: Bass Lake has 46.0 square miles of land and 15.7 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Bass Lake’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources753 ac
National Park Service682 ac
Other or Unknown Federal Land297 ac
County24 ac
State Recreation Area · 724 acConservation Easement · 606 acWild and Scenic River · 373 acLocal Conservation Area · 24 acState Conservation Area · 14 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 309 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grindstone Creek Fishery Area State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 408 | Open |
| Saint Croix National Scenic Riverway Wild and Scenic River | National Park Service | 373 | Open |
| Flat Creek Wildlife Area State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 214 | Open |
| Bean Brook Fishery Area State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 79 | Open |
| Washburn County Forest Local Conservation Area | County | 20 | Open |
| State Owned Islands State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 14 | Open |
| State Owned Islands - Nw State Resource Management Area | State natural resources | 14 | Open |
| Statewide Public Access State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 11 | Open |
| Statewide Public Access - Nw State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 11 | Open |
| Sawyer County Forest Local Conservation Area | County | 4 | Open |
1 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
4 places to go in Bass Lake
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Bass Lake
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Campgrounds in Bass Lake
2 campgrounds without a name on the map.
Trails & water
1 named trail and 23 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Old Timber Trail0.3 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Adina LakeChristner LakelakeColbroth LakeDurphee LakelakeGrindstone LakelakeGurno LakelakeHub LakelakeIsland LakelakeJohnson LakelakeLac Courte OreilleslakeLake Twenty-SevenlakeLittle Spring LakelakeMinnemac LakelakeMud LakeMurry LakelakePetty LakeRing LakelakeSchoolhouse LakelakeSpring LakeTripp LakeWilliams LakelakeWindigo LakelakeNamekagon River
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.
Courts & fields
1Baseball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The walking year in Bass Lake
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 | 39 | 53 | 66 | 75 | 79 | 77 | 68 | 54 | 38 | 25 |
| Rain (in) | 0.9 | 1.0 | 1.6 | 2.9 | 4.0 | 4.4 | 4.3 | 4.1 | 3.9 | 3.3 | 1.9 | 1.4 |
January is the driest month (0.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 79 °F). 4.4 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Bass Lake →
Next door
Bass Lake and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Hayward31 miCouderay14 miBass Lake3.1 miSand Lake2.5 miLittle Round Lake0.5 miReserve0.0 miChief Lake0.0 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bass Lake | 5% | 0.1 | 264 | 12% | B− |
| Sand Lake | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Hayward | 12% | 0.5 | 1,065 | 55% | A− |
| Reserve | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Couderay | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Little Round Lake | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Chief Lake | — 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 Bass Lake
How much of Bass Lake 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 Bass Lake’s trails?
Saint Croix National Scenic Riverway doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Bass Lake?
105,255 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Bass Lake or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,128 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Bass Lake have?
Ahead of 46% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #288 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 Bass Lake 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 →