Barron County Forest
Managed by Barron County
111 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Doug Kerr · CC BY-SA 2.0C+Outdoors
Outdoors in Chetek
Chetek has 177 acres of parks, 106 for every 1,000 residents
2.7 miles of mapped trail cross Chetek, 0.1 per square mile of land. 32% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 1% of Chetek’s land is conserved, about 214 acres.
Ahead of 39% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
1%
214 acres · of 30.5 sq mi of land
Trails
2.7 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
177 ac
106 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
32%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
5
4 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Chetek?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Chetek have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Chetek is ahead of 39% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
C+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Chetek’s overall grade.
Conserved land1% of the land · typical WI town 4% · U.S. 4%CTrails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (3 mi) · WI 0.4 · U.S. 0.4CPark land106 acres of park per 1,000 residents (177 acres) · WI 31 · U.S. 13AParks close to home32% 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 39%
LessMore
Water is 9% of Chetek’s area (3 of 34 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 1%.
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.
Who protects it
214 conserved acres
1% of Chetek’s land. Water is left out: Chetek has 30.5 square miles of land and 3.1 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Chetek’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County126 ac
State natural resources92 ac
Private owners31 ac
Town or city10 ac
Local Conservation Area · 118 acState Recreation Area · 92 acPrivate Park · 31 acLocal Historic or Cultural Area · 10 acLocal Park · 8 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barron County Forest Local Conservation Area | County | 118 | Open |
| Statewide Public Access State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 47 | Open |
| Statewide Public Access - Nw State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 45 | Open |
| Sunset View Country Club Private Park | Private owners | 31 | Open |
| Lakeview Cemetary Local Historic or Cultural Area | Town or city | 10 | Open |
| Barron County Park Local Park | County | 8 | Open |
Things to do
9 places to go in Chetek
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Chetek
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Chetek
Auggie LandHours: May-Nov: Mo-Su,PH dawn-dusk "weather-dependent"
DirectionsBoat launches in Chetek
4 boat launches without a name on the map.
Campgrounds in Chetek
2 campgrounds without a name on the map.
Trails & water
5 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
When to get out
The walking year in Chetek
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 | 13.4 | 14.9 | 15.6 | 15.3 | 14.1 | 12.5 | 10.8 | 9.4 | 8.7 |
| High (°F) | 21 | 27 | 40 | 54 | 67 | 76 | 80 | 78 | 70 | 56 | 40 | 27 |
| Rain (in) | 0.9 | 1.0 | 1.7 | 2.9 | 4.1 | 4.6 | 4.2 | 4.1 | 3.6 | 3.0 | 1.8 | 1.3 |
January is the driest month (0.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 80 °F). 4.6 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Chetek →
Next door
Chetek and its neighbors
Chetek 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chetek | 1% | 0.1 | 106 | 32% | C+ |
| Prairie Lake | under 1% | under 0.1 | 1 | 8% | D |
| Rusk | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Sumner | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Dovre | — 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 Chetek
How much of Chetek is conserved land?
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 Chetek’s trails?
Barron County Forest doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Chetek?
24,756 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Chetek or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 177 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Chetek have?
Ahead of 39% 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 Chetek 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 →