Buena Vista Wildlife Area
Managed by Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
2,525 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
B−Outdoors
Outdoors in Buena Vista
Buena Vista has 2,247 acres of parks, 1,947 for every 1,000 residents
0.2 miles of mapped trail cross Buena Vista. 7% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 7% of Buena Vista’s land is conserved, about 2,922 acres.
Ahead of 46% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
7%
2,922 acres · of 61.2 sq mi of land
Trails
0.2 mi
0.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
2,247 ac
1,947 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
7%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
4
What kind of outdoors town is Buena Vista?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Buena Vista have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Buena Vista is ahead of 46% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
B−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Buena Vista’s overall grade.
Conserved land7% of the land · typical WI town 4% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (0 mi) · WI 0.4 · U.S. 0.4DPark land1,947 acres of park per 1,000 residents (2,247 acres) · WI 31 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home7% of residents within a half mile of a park · WI 90% · U.S. 72%D
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 46%
LessMore
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.
Standing Rocks Park
Park
1 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
2,922 conserved acres
7% of Buena Vista’s land. Who manages Buena Vista’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources2,911 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)347 ac
State Recreation Area · 2,579 acConservation Easement · 347 acState Conservation Area · 332 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 344 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buena Vista Wildlife Area State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 2,246 | Open |
| Central Wisconsin Grassland Conservation Area State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 665 | Open |
Trails & water
4 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
When to get out
The walking year in Buena Vista
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 | 29 | 41 | 55 | 68 | 77 | 81 | 79 | 71 | 58 | 42 | 30 |
| Rain (in) | 1.1 | 1.1 | 1.9 | 3.3 | 4.0 | 4.8 | 3.8 | 4.0 | 3.6 | 2.7 | 1.9 | 1.5 |
February is the driest month (1.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 81 °F). 4.8 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Buena Vista →
Next door
Buena Vista 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buena Vista | 7% | under 0.1 | 1,947 | 7% | B− |
| Plover | 7% | 0.1 | 545 | 47% | B+ |
| Almond | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Lanark | 1% | 0.2 | 52 | 17% | C |
| Stockton | under 1% | 0.4 | 270 | 17% | B− |
| Pine Grove | — 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 Buena Vista
How much of Buena Vista is conserved land?
7% 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 Buena Vista’s trails?
Buena Vista Wildlife Area and Standing Rocks Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Buena Vista?
19,990 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Buena Vista or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 2,247 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Buena Vista have?
Ahead of 46% 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 Buena Vista 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 →