Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge
Managed by United States Fish and Wildlife Service
1,995 acres2.1 mi of trail
South LoopShady Maple Interpretive TrailConnector
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
BOutdoors
Outdoors in Bergen
29% of Bergen’s land is conserved: 6,303 acres
86 acres are parks and preserves, 64 per 1,000 residents. The biggest trail networks: Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge (2.1 mi). 15% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 58% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
29%
6,303 acres · of 33.5 sq mi of land
Trails
3.0 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
86 ac
64 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
15%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
2
2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Bergen?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Bergen have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Bergen is ahead of 58% of U.S. towns. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Bergen’s overall grade.
Conserved land29% of the land · typical WI town 4% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (3 mi) · WI 0.4 · U.S. 0.4CPark land64 acres of park per 1,000 residents (86 acres) · WI 31 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home15% 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 58%
LessMore
Water is 36% of Bergen’s area (19 of 53 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 19%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ 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 Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge, with 2.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Old Settler's Overlook
Managed by State of Wisconsin
45 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
6,303 conserved acres
29% of Bergen’s land. Water is left out: Bergen has 33.5 square miles of land and 19.1 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Bergen’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service12,479 ac
State natural resources70 ac
County33 ac
National Wildlife Refuge · 12,479 acState Conservation Area · 56 acState Resource Management Area · 21 acState Recreation Area · 20 acLocal Park · 7 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife And Fish Refuge National Wildlife Refuge | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 12,479 | Restricted |
| Bergen Bluffs State Natural Area State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 30 | Restricted |
| Natural Area State Conservation Area | County | 27 | Restricted |
| Scattered Forest Lands State Resource Management Area | State natural resources | 21 | Open |
| Scattered Forest Land - Wd State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 20 | Open |
| Goose Island Park Local Park | County | 7 | Open |
Things to do
4 places to go in Bergen
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Boat launches in Bergen
Hunters Point Boat LandingIn Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge
DirectionsUpper Hunter's Point Landing
DirectionsScenic views in Bergen
2 scenic views without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
3 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 1.5 miUnpaved · 1.5 mi
South Loop1.4 mi
Shady Maple Interpretive Trail0.6 mi
Connector0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
When to get out
The walking year in Bergen
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 | 8.9 |
| High (°F) | 25 | 30 | 43 | 57 | 69 | 78 | 82 | 80 | 72 | 59 | 43 | 30 |
| Rain (in) | 1.2 | 1.2 | 2.0 | 3.9 | 4.9 | 5.6 | 4.4 | 4.4 | 3.9 | 2.8 | 2.0 | 1.4 |
February is the driest month (1.2 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 5.6 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Bergen →
Next door
Bergen and its neighbors
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bergen | 29% | 0.1 | 64 | 15% | B |
| Shelby | 14% | 0.7 | 263 | 74% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Bergen
Where can I hike in Bergen?
The longest trail networks: Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge, 2.1 miles; Old Settler's Overlook, 0.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Bergen is conserved land?
29% 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 Bergen’s trails?
Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge and Old Settler's Overlook don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Bergen?
16,311 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Bergen or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 87 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Bergen have?
Ahead of 58% 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 Bergen 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 →