Rat River Wildlife Area
Nature preserve
1,410 acres0.3 mi of trail
Wiouwash State Recreation Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Whiting, Frank, Boathouse · Photo: Royalbroil · CC BY-SA 3.0B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Clayton
Clayton has 1,445 acres of parks, 324 for every 1,000 residents
6% of Clayton’s land is conserved, about 1,502 acres. 21 miles of mapped trail cross Clayton, 0.6 per square mile of land. 22% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 70% of U.S. towns · #181 of 362 in Wisconsin. What drives it
Conserved land
6%
1,502 acres · of 36.2 sq mi of land
Trails
21 mi
0.6 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,445 ac
324 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
22%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.3 mi
0.1 mi lanes · 0.3 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
1 beach
What kind of outdoors town is Clayton?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Clayton have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Clayton is ahead of 70% of U.S. towns, #181 of 362 in Wisconsin. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Clayton’s overall grade.
Conserved land6% of the land · typical WI town 4% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.6 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (21 mi) · WI 0.4 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land324 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,445 acres) · WI 31 · U.S. 13AParks close to home22% 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 70%
LessMore
Wisconsin towns of 2,500+ (362)Ahead of 50%
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 Rat River Wildlife Area, with 0.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Trailhead Park
Park
5 acres0.1 mi of trail
Wiouwash Trail Connector
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Who protects it
1,502 conserved acres
6% of Clayton’s land. Who manages Clayton’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources1,399 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)95 ac
County8 ac
State Recreation Area · 1,379 acConservation Easement · 95 acState Park · 20 acLocal Park · 8 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 95 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rat River Wildlife Area State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 1,379 | Open |
| Ottawa Siata State Park | State natural resources | 20 | Open |
| County Park Local Park | County | 8 | Open |
Things to do
6 places to go in Clayton
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Clayton
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Clayton
3 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Picnic areas in Clayton
2 picnic areas without a name on the map.
Trails & water
3 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 11.9 miHorses · 7.7 miUnpaved · 18.1 mi
Wiouwash State Recreation Trail6.3 mi
Friendship Trail5.4 mi
Wiouwash Trail Connector0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.3 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.1 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
0.3 mi
off-road bike paths
South Wiouwash State Recreation TrailBike route
6.3 miFriendship State TrailBike route
5.4 miCourts & fields
4Baseball
1Basketball
1Tennis
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →2 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 1 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The best walking months in Clayton: August and September
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 | 14.7 | 15.5 | 15.2 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.5 | 8.9 |
| High (°F) | 25 | 29 | 41 | 55 | 68 | 77 | 81 | 79 | 72 | 58 | 43 | 31 |
| Rain (in) | 1.3 | 1.1 | 1.9 | 3.2 | 3.9 | 4.7 | 3.9 | 3.5 | 3.4 | 2.9 | 2.0 | 1.6 |
February is the driest month (1.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 81 °F). 4.7 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Clayton →
Next door
Clayton and its neighbors
Clayton has the most mapped trails of the 6 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clayton | 6% | 0.6 | 324 | 22% | B+ |
| Fox Crossing | 3% | 0.3 | 16 | 94% | B |
| Greenville | 1% | 0.4 | 19 | 54% | B− |
| Vinland | 1% | 0.2 | 5 | 15% | C− |
| Dale | 1% | 0.3 | 15 | 18% | C |
| Winchester | 16% | 0.1 | 1,997 | 52% | B+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Clayton
Where can I hike in Clayton?
The longest trail networks: Rat River Wildlife Area, 0.3 miles; Trailhead Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Clayton is conserved land?
6% 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 Clayton’s trails?
Rat River Wildlife Area and Trailhead Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Clayton?
0.3 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.1 of painted or protected lanes and 0.3 of off-road paths. Named routes: South Wiouwash State Recreation Trail and Friendship State Trail.
Is there public land near Clayton?
12,062 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Clayton or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,445 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Clayton have?
Ahead of 70% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #181 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 Clayton 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 →