Wazee Lake Recreation Area
Managed by Jackson County
4,020 acres8.2 mi of trail
porcupineBobcattaconiteLink
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
A+Outdoors
Outdoors in Brockway
More than half of Brockway’s land is conserved: 66%
66% of Brockway’s land is conserved, about 19,872 acres. 15,920 acres are parks and preserves, 5,348 per 1,000 residents. The biggest trail networks: Wazee Lake Recreation Area (8.2 mi), Jackson County Forest (0.6 mi).
Ahead of 96% of U.S. towns · #18 of 362 in Wisconsin. What drives it
Conserved land
66%
19,872 acres · of 47.1 sq mi of land
Trails
24 mi
0.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
15,920 ac
5,348 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
87%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
2.2 mi
2.2 mi paths
Highest peak
1,063 ft
Castle Mound
Lakes & rivers
6
1 beach · 2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Brockway?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Brockway have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Brockway is ahead of 96% of U.S. towns, #18 of 362 in Wisconsin. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; park acres per resident rank highest, trail miles lowest.
A+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Brockway’s overall grade.
Conserved land66% of the land · typical WI town 4% · U.S. 4%A+Trails0.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (24 mi) · WI 0.4 · U.S. 0.4BPark land5,348 acres of park per 1,000 residents (15,920 acres) · WI 31 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home87% of residents within a half mile of a park · WI 90% · U.S. 72%B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 96%
LessMore
Wisconsin towns of 2,500+ (362)Ahead of 95%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from A 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 Wazee Lake Recreation Area, with 8.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Jackson County Forest
Managed by Jackson County
11,832 acres0.6 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Bauer-Brockway Barrens State Natural Area
Nature preserve
318 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
19,872 conserved acres
66% of Brockway’s land. Who manages Brockway’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County15,808 ac
State natural resources4,107 ac
Bureau of Land Management10 ac
Local Conservation Area · 15,769 acState Resource Management Area · 3,991 acState Conservation Area · 156 acNational Public Lands · 10 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jackson County Forest Local Conservation Area | County | 15,764 | Open |
| Black River State Forest State Resource Management Area | State natural resources | 3,991 | Open |
| Bauer-Brockway Barrens State Natural Area State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 117 | Restricted |
| Natural Area State Conservation Area | County | 39 | Restricted |
| Northeastern States District Office National Public Lands | Bureau of Land Management | 10 | Open |
| County Forest Land Local Conservation Area | County | 5 | Open |
Things to do
12 places to go in Brockway
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Brockway
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Brockway
1 playground without a name on the map.
Boat launches in Brockway
2 boat launches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Scenic views in Brockway
Fox PointIn Wazee Lake Recreation Area
DirectionsWilliam's RidgeIn Wazee Lake Recreation Area
DirectionsPlus 3 scenic views without a name on the map.
Peaks in Brockway
Castle Mound1,063 ft elevation
DirectionsSilver Mound1,004 ft elevation · In Jackson County Forest
DirectionsIron Mound965 ft elevation · In Wazee Lake Recreation Area
DirectionsTrails & water
5 named trails and 6 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 7.6 miUnpaved · 9.1 mi
porcupine5.5 mi
Bobcat1.8 mi
Nature Center Trail1.5 mi
Overlook0.3 mi
taconite0.2 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
2.2 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
2.2 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
2Tennis
2Basketball
1Baseball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The walking year in Brockway
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) | 9.2 | 10.4 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.8 | 15.5 | 15.2 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.5 | 8.9 |
| High (°F) | 24 | 30 | 42 | 56 | 69 | 78 | 82 | 79 | 72 | 58 | 43 | 30 |
| Rain (in) | 1.1 | 1.1 | 1.7 | 3.4 | 4.3 | 5.2 | 4.4 | 4.4 | 3.8 | 2.8 | 1.8 | 1.4 |
January is the driest month (1.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 5.2 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Brockway →
Next door
Brockway 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brockway | 66% | 0.5 | 5,348 | 87% | A+ |
| Black River Falls | 3% | 1.0 | 49 | 99%+ | A |
| Adams | 5% | under 0.1 | 23 | 21% | C+ |
| Millston | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Manchester | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Komensky | — 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 Brockway
Where can I hike in Brockway?
The longest trail networks: Wazee Lake Recreation Area, 8.2 miles; Jackson County Forest, 0.6 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Brockway is conserved land?
66% 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 Brockway’s trails?
Wazee Lake Recreation Area and Jackson County Forest don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Brockway?
2.2 miles of bike routes are on the map: 2.2 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Brockway?
159,766 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Brockway or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 19,933 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Brockway have?
Ahead of 96% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #18 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 Brockway 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 →