Butterfly Garden of Wisconsin
Nature preserve
7 acres0.7 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Center Valley Grade School · Photo: Royalbroil · CC BY-SA 3.0C−Outdoors
Outdoors in Center
Center has 55 acres of parks, 15 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Butterfly Garden of Wisconsin (0.7 mi). 13% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 6.7 miles of mapped trail cross Center, 0.2 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 23% of U.S. towns · #345 of 362 in Wisconsin. What drives it
Conserved land
under 1%
39 acres · of 34.8 sq mi of land
Trails
6.7 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
55 ac
15 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
13%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
1
4 beaches
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Center have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Center is ahead of 23% of U.S. towns, #345 of 362 in Wisconsin. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
C−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Center’s overall grade.
Conserved landunder 1% of the land · typical WI town 4% · U.S. 4%C−Trails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (7 mi) · WI 0.4 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land15 acres of park per 1,000 residents (55 acres) · WI 31 · U.S. 13BParks close to home13% 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 23%
LessMore
Wisconsin towns of 2,500+ (362)Ahead of 5%
NoteFew parks or trails are mapped in Center. OpenStreetMap is mapped by volunteers and coverage varies from town to town, so a town with unmapped parks scores low on them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C. 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 Butterfly Garden of Wisconsin, with 0.7 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
39 conserved acres
under 1% of Center’s land. Who manages Center’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources77 ac
State Resource Management Area · 39 acState Recreation Area · 39 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scattered Forest Lands State Resource Management Area | State natural resources | 39 | Open |
| Scattered Forest Land - Lm State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 39 | Open |
Things to do
8 places to go in Center
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Center
4 beaches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Swimming spots in Center
1 swimming spot without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Center
1 playground without a name on the map.
Waterfalls in Center
2 waterfalls without a name on the map.
Trails & water
1 lakes & rivers
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
1Baseball
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).
Center Valley Grade SchoolBuilding · listed 2011
About itWhen to get out
The walking year in Center
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) | 25 | 29 | 41 | 54 | 67 | 77 | 81 | 79 | 71 | 58 | 43 | 31 |
| Rain (in) | 1.4 | 1.1 | 1.9 | 3.1 | 3.7 | 4.5 | 3.9 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 2.9 | 2.0 | 1.7 |
February is the driest month (1.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 81 °F). 4.5 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Center →
Next door
Center 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Center | under 1% | 0.2 | 15 | 13% | C− |
| Appleton | 5% | 0.5 | 12 | 92% | B+ |
| Black Creek | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Ellington | 3% | under 0.1 | 206 | 11% | C+ |
| Freedom | 1% | 0.2 | 12 | 42% | C |
| Grand Chute | 4% | 0.5 | 27 | 85% | B+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Center
Where can I hike in Center?
The longest trail networks: Butterfly Garden of Wisconsin, 0.7 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Center is conserved land?
under 1% 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 Center’s trails?
Butterfly Garden of Wisconsin and Town of Center Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Center?
12,841 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Center or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 55 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Center have?
Ahead of 23% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #345 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 Center 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 →