Black Earth Creek Fishery Area
Nature preserve
16 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: VazDrae · CC BY-SA 3.0B−Outdoors
Outdoors in Black Earth
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park in Black Earth
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park. 4% of Black Earth’s land is conserved, about 22 acres. 22 acres are parks and preserves, 13 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 53% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
4%
22 acres · of 0.8 sq mi of land
Trails
0.0 mi
0.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
22 ac
13 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.4 mi
1.3 mi lanes · 0.1 mi paths
What kind of outdoors town is Black Earth?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Black Earth have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Black Earth is ahead of 53% of U.S. towns. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
B−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Black Earth’s overall grade.
Conserved land4% of the land · typical WI town 4% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (0 mi) · WI 0.4 · U.S. 0.4DPark land13 acres of park per 1,000 residents (22 acres) · WI 31 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to homeVirtually all residents within a half mile of a park · WI 90% · U.S. 72%A+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 53%
LessMore
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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Creekside Park
Park
4 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Veteran's Park
Park
2 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
22 conserved acres
4% of Black Earth’s land. Who manages Black Earth’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources15 ac
Town or city6 ac
Joint1 ac
State Recreation Area · 15 acLocal Park · 6 acConservation Easement · 1 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1 acre is a conservation easement, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Black Earth Creek Fishery Area State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 15 | Open |
| Black Earth Community Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Veteran'S Memorial Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
| Tower Heights Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
3 places to go in Black Earth
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Black Earth
3 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Biking & sports
1.4 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.3 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
0.1 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
2Basketball
1Baseball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Heiney's Meat MarketBuilding · listed 1984
About itWhen to get out
September is the best month for walking in Black Earth
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 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.6 | 15.4 | 15.1 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 28 | 32 | 44 | 58 | 70 | 79 | 83 | 80 | 74 | 60 | 45 | 33 |
| Rain (in) | 1.4 | 1.4 | 2.1 | 3.7 | 4.2 | 5.4 | 4.6 | 4.3 | 3.6 | 2.8 | 2.2 | 1.6 |
January is the driest month (1.4 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 5.4 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Black Earth →
Questions about parks and trails in Black Earth
How much of Black Earth 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 Black Earth’s trails?
Black Earth Creek Fishery Area and Creekside Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Black Earth?
1.4 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.3 of painted or protected lanes and 0.1 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Black Earth?
6,529 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Black Earth or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 22 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Black Earth have?
Ahead of 53% 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 Black Earth 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 →