Gotham Pioneer Park
Park
11 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Doug Kerr · CC BY-SA 2.0C+Outdoors
Outdoors in Chetek
Chetek has 27 acres of parks, 12 for every 1,000 residents
79% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 1% of Chetek’s land is conserved, about 15 acres. 0.3 miles of mapped trail cross Chetek, 0.1 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 40% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
1%
15 acres · of 2.3 sq mi of land
Trails
0.3 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
27 ac
12 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
79%
of residents within ½ mile
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 40% of U.S. towns. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; conserved land pulls 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 (0 mi) · WI 0.4 · U.S. 0.4CPark land12 acres of park per 1,000 residents (27 acres) · WI 31 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to home79% 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 40%
LessMore
Water is 23% of Chetek’s area (1 of 3 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.
Southworth/Airport Park
Park
2 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
15 conserved acres
1% of Chetek’s land. Water is left out: Chetek has 2.3 square miles of land and 0.7 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.
Town or city14 ac
State natural resources2 ac
Local Historic or Cultural Area · 8 acLocal Park · 7 acState Recreation Area · 2 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lakeview Cemetary Local Historic or Cultural Area | Town or city | 8 | Open |
| Chetek Lions Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Airport Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Phillips Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Statewide Public Access State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 1 | Open |
| Statewide Public Access - Nw State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 1 | Open |
Things to do
5 places to go in Chetek
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Chetek
City BeachIn Gotham Pioneer Park
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Chetek
3 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Chetek
1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
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.
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) | 22 | 27 | 40 | 55 | 68 | 77 | 81 | 79 | 71 | 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 81 °F). 4.6 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Chetek →
Next door
Chetek and its neighbors
Chetek has the second most mapped trails of the 2 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 | 12 | 79% | C+ |
| Prairie Lake | under 1% | under 0.1 | 1 | 8% | D |
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?
Gotham Pioneer Park and Southworth/Airport Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Chetek?
3,849 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Chetek or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 27 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Chetek have?
Ahead of 40% 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 →