Muir Park State Natural Area
Park
171 acres1.7 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Fountain Lake Farm · Photo: User Royalbroil on en.wikipedia · CC BY-SA 2.5B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Buffalo
Buffalo has 2,734 acres of parks, 2,226 for every 1,000 residents
15% of Buffalo’s land is conserved, about 4,600 acres. The biggest trail networks: Muir Park State Natural Area (1.7 mi). 5.7 miles of mapped trail cross Buffalo, 0.1 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 69% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
15%
4,600 acres · of 48.6 sq mi of land
Trails
5.7 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
2,734 ac
2,226 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
37%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
1,076 ft
Observatory Hill
Lakes & rivers
3
1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Buffalo?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Buffalo have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Buffalo is ahead of 69% 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 Buffalo’s overall grade.
Conserved land15% of the land · typical WI town 4% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (6 mi) · WI 0.4 · U.S. 0.4CPark land2,226 acres of park per 1,000 residents (2,734 acres) · WI 31 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home37% 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 69%
LessMore
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B− 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 Muir Park State Natural Area, with 1.7 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Grand River Marsh Wildlife Area
Managed by Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
1,106 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Fox River National Wildlife Refuge
Nature preserve
977 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Who protects it
4,600 conserved acres
15% of Buffalo’s land. Who manages Buffalo’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources2,754 ac
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service2,397 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)623 ac
County176 ac
Private owners35 ac
State Recreation Area · 2,551 acNational Wildlife Refuge · 1,978 acConservation Easement · 650 acResource Management Area · 419 acState Conservation Area · 353 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 648 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fox River National Wildlife Refuge National Wildlife Refuge | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 2,012 | Restricted |
| French Creek Wildlife Area State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 1,519 | Open |
| Grand River Marsh Wildlife Area State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 1,028 | Open |
| Marquette County Waterfowl Production Area Resource Management Area | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 419 | Restricted |
| Natural Area State Conservation Area | County | 176 | Restricted |
| Observatory Hill State Natural Area State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 176 | Restricted |
| Upper Fox River Public Access State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 5 | Open |
Things to do
5 places to go in Buffalo
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Buffalo
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in Buffalo
1 boat launch without a name on the map.
Peaks in Buffalo
Observatory Hill1,076 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
1 named trail and 3 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 0.8 mi
Walking path to peak at Observatory Hill0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Courts & fields
1Beach volleyball
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register, one a National Historic Landmark
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
When to get out
September is the best month for walking in Buffalo
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) | 26 | 31 | 43 | 57 | 69 | 78 | 82 | 80 | 73 | 60 | 44 | 32 |
| Rain (in) | 1.3 | 1.2 | 2.0 | 3.5 | 4.2 | 5.0 | 4.1 | 4.1 | 3.3 | 2.9 | 2.0 | 1.6 |
February is the driest month (1.2 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 5.0 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Buffalo →
Next door
Buffalo and its neighbors
Buffalo has the most mapped trails of the 5 towns around it. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buffalo | 15% | 0.1 | 2,226 | 37% | B+ |
| Kingston | 17% | under 0.1 | 2,710 | 27% | B |
| Marcellon | 5% | 0.1 | 394 | 5% | B− |
| Packwaukee | 4% | 0.1 | 427 | 34% | B− |
| Montello | 17% | 0.2 | 705 | 20% | B+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Buffalo
Where can I hike in Buffalo?
The longest trail networks: Muir Park State Natural Area, 1.7 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Buffalo is conserved land?
15% 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 Buffalo’s trails?
Muir Park State Natural Area and Grand River Marsh Wildlife Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Buffalo?
21,384 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Buffalo or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 2,734 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Buffalo have?
Ahead of 69% 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 Buffalo 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 →