Carson has 1,612 acres of parks, 1,347 for every 1,000 residents
16% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 7% of Carson’s land is conserved, about 2,320 acres. 2.8 miles of mapped trail cross Carson, 0.1 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 51% of U.S. towns. What drives it
What kind of outdoors town is Carson?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
How much outdoors does Carson have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Carson is ahead of 51% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
2,320 conserved acres
7% of Carson’s land. Who manages Carson’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 393 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paul Olson Wildlife Area State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 1,337 | Open |
| Central Wisconsin Grassland Conservation Area State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 918 | Open |
| Northeastern States District Office National Public Lands | Bureau of Land Management | 5 | Open |
1 places to go in Carson
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
1 named trail and 1 lakes & rivers
The walking year in Carson
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 | 8.8 |
| High (°F) | 24 | 29 | 41 | 55 | 68 | 77 | 81 | 79 | 71 | 57 | 42 | 29 |
| Rain (in) | 1.1 | 1.0 | 1.8 | 3.2 | 3.9 | 4.8 | 3.8 | 4.0 | 3.6 | 2.8 | 1.8 | 1.4 |
February is the driest month (1.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 81 °F). 4.8 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Carson →
Carson and its neighbors
Carson has the second most mapped trails of the 7 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carson | 7% | 0.1 | 1,347 | 16% | B− |
| Hull | under 1% | 0.4 | 101 | 75% | B |
| Junction City | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Linwood | under 1% | 0.1 | 17 | 5% | C− |
| Sherry | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Rudolph | 1% | under 0.1 | 172 | 14% | C |
| Eau Pleine | 31% | under 0.1 | 10,246 | 52% | B+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Carson
How much of Carson 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.
Is there public land near Carson?
44,938 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Carson or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,618 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Carson have?
Ahead of 51% 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 Carson neighbors.
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 →