Madison Metropolitan Sewerage District Wildlife Observation Area
Managed by Madison Metropolitan Sewerage District
198 acres4.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trailheadWebsite ↗
Photo: Corey Coyle · CC BY 3.0A+Outdoors
Outdoors in Blooming Grove
Blooming Grove has 8.5 miles of mapped trails, 3.7 for every square mile of land
33% of Blooming Grove’s land is conserved, about 486 acres. 424 acres are parks and preserves, 281 per 1,000 residents. 98% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Among the top 1% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
33%
486 acres · of 2.3 sq mi of land
Trails
8.5 mi
3.7 per sq mi of land
Park land
424 ac
281 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
98%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
4.4 mi
1.4 mi lanes · 2.6 mi paths
What kind of outdoors town is Blooming Grove?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Blooming Grove have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Blooming Grove is among the top 1% of U.S. towns. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; trail miles rank highest, the share of residents near a park lowest.
A+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Blooming Grove’s overall grade.
Conserved land33% of the land · typical WI town 4% · U.S. 4%A+Trails3.7 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (9 mi) · WI 0.4 · U.S. 0.4A+Park land281 acres of park per 1,000 residents (424 acres) · WI 31 · U.S. 13AParks close to home98% of residents within a half mile of a park · WI 90% · U.S. 72%A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Among the top 1%
LessMore
Water is 38% of Blooming Grove’s area (1 of 4 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 21%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would still be 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 Madison Metropolitan Sewerage District Wildlife Observation Area, with 4.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Capital Springs State Park
Managed by Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
247 acres2.2 mi of trail
West Waubesa Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Capital Springs State Recreation Area
Managed by Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
702 acres1.3 mi of trail
E-Way Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto Dog Park Parking
William G. Lunney Lake Farm County Park
Managed by Dane County
42 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 8 parks & preserves
Madison Metropolitan Sewerage District Wildlife Observation Area198 acres · 4.5 mi of trail · Madison Metropolitan Sewerage District
DirectionsCapital Springs State Park247 acres · 2.2 mi of trail · Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
DirectionsCapital Springs State Recreation Area702 acres · 1.3 mi of trail · Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
DirectionsWilliam G. Lunney Lake Farm County Park42 acres · 0.4 mi of trail · Dane County
Upper Mud Lake Unit56 acres
Monona Wetland Conservancy5 acres · City of Monona
Richmond Hill Park5 acres
Thurber Park2 acres
Who protects it
486 conserved acres
33% of Blooming Grove’s land. Water is left out: Blooming Grove has 2.3 square miles of land and 1.4 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Blooming Grove’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources374 ac
County95 ac
Private owners63 ac
Town or city16 ac
State Park · 349 acConservation Easement · 115 acLocal Other or Unknown · 44 acState Recreation Area · 25 acLocal Conservation Area · 13 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 52 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 13 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capital Springs Centennial State Park And Recreation Area State Park | State natural resources | 286 | Open |
| Capitol Springs Centennial State Park State Park | Private owners | 63 | Open |
| E-Way Local Other or Unknown | County | 44 | Open |
| Upper Waubesa Fishery Area State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 25 | Open |
| Mud Lake Fishing Access Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 9 | Open |
| Monona Wetland Conservancy Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| April Hill Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
Things to do
4 places to go in Blooming Grove
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Blooming Grove
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Blooming Grove
1 playground without a name on the map.
Dog parks in Blooming Grove
Capital Springs Dog ParkIn Capital Springs State Recreation Area
DirectionsSmall Dog AreaIn Capital Springs State Recreation Area
DirectionsTrails & water
2 named trails
Named trails
Unpaved · 7.1 mi
E-Way Trail0.2 mi
West Waubesa Trail0.1 mi
Biking & sports
4.4 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.4 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
2.6 mi
off-road bike paths
0.4 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
September is the best month for walking in Blooming Grove
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 | 15.3 | 15.1 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 28 | 32 | 44 | 58 | 70 | 79 | 83 | 81 | 74 | 61 | 45 | 33 |
| Rain (in) | 1.5 | 1.5 | 2.1 | 3.7 | 4.2 | 5.6 | 4.4 | 4.1 | 3.6 | 3.0 | 2.3 | 1.6 |
January is the driest month (1.5 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 5.6 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Blooming Grove →
Next door
Blooming Grove and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Questions about parks and trails in Blooming Grove
Where can I hike in Blooming Grove?
The longest trail networks: Madison Metropolitan Sewerage District Wildlife Observation Area, 4.5 miles; Capital Springs State Park, 2.2 miles; Capital Springs State Recreation Area, 1.3 miles; William G. Lunney Lake Farm County Park, 0.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Blooming Grove is conserved land?
33% 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 Blooming Grove’s trails?
Madison Metropolitan Sewerage District Wildlife Observation Area and Capital Springs State Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Blooming Grove?
4.4 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.4 of painted or protected lanes, 2.6 of off-road paths and 0.4 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Blooming Grove?
21,837 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Blooming Grove or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 424 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Blooming Grove have?
Among the top 1% 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 Blooming Grove 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 →