Barron County Forest
Managed by Barron County
4,911 acres4.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
AOutdoors
Outdoors in Cedar Lake
Cedar Lake has 5,033 acres of parks, 5,567 for every 1,000 residents
25% of Cedar Lake’s land is conserved, about 5,073 acres. The biggest trail networks: Barron County Forest (4.1 mi). 68% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 87% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
25%
5,073 acres · of 31.4 sq mi of land
Trails
9.8 mi
0.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
5,033 ac
5,567 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
68%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
9
What kind of outdoors town is Cedar Lake?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Cedar Lake have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Cedar Lake is ahead of 87% of U.S. towns. 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 Cedar Lake’s overall grade.
Conserved land25% of the land · typical WI town 4% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (10 mi) · WI 0.4 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land5,567 acres of park per 1,000 residents (5,033 acres) · WI 31 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home68% 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 87%
LessMore
Water is 11% of Cedar Lake’s area (4 of 35 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 22%.
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 Barron County Forest, with 4.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Waldo Carlson County Park
Managed by Barron County
15 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
5,073 conserved acres
25% of Cedar Lake’s land. Water is left out: Cedar Lake has 31.4 square miles of land and 4.0 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Cedar Lake’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County4,917 ac
Private owners103 ac
State natural resources54 ac
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service2 ac
Local Conservation Area · 4,917 acPrivate Park · 103 acState Park · 48 acState Conservation Area · 3 acState Resource Management Area · 3 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 2 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barron County Forest Local Conservation Area | County | 4,917 | Open |
| Tagalong Golf Course Private Park | Private owners | 103 | Open |
| Tuscobia State Trail State Park | State natural resources | 48 | Open |
| State Owned Islands State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 3 | Open |
| State Owned Islands - Nw State Resource Management Area | State natural resources | 3 | Open |
Trails & water
1 named trail and 9 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 3.9 miUnpaved · 3.9 mi
Tuscobia State Trail3.9 mi
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.
Tuscobia State TrailBike route
3.9 miCourts & fields
1Tennis
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Island of Happy DaysDistrict · listed 1995
About itWhen to get out
The walking year in Cedar Lake
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) | 9.1 | 10.3 | 11.8 | 13.5 | 14.9 | 15.7 | 15.3 | 14.1 | 12.5 | 10.8 | 9.4 | 8.7 |
| High (°F) | 21 | 27 | 39 | 54 | 67 | 76 | 80 | 77 | 69 | 55 | 39 | 26 |
| Rain (in) | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.7 | 2.9 | 4.0 | 4.6 | 4.3 | 4.2 | 3.6 | 3.2 | 1.9 | 1.3 |
January is the driest month (1.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 80 °F). 4.6 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Cedar Lake →
Next door
Cedar Lake 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cedar Lake | 25% | 0.3 | 5,567 | 68% | A |
| Birchwood | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Wilson | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Oak Grove | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Doyle | — 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 Cedar Lake
Where can I hike in Cedar Lake?
The longest trail networks: Barron County Forest, 4.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Cedar Lake is conserved land?
25% 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 Cedar Lake’s trails?
Barron County Forest and Waldo Carlson County Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Cedar Lake?
96,076 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Cedar Lake or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 5,033 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Cedar Lake have?
Ahead of 87% 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 Cedar Lake 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 →