Vilas County Forest
Managed by Vilas County Forestry
18,551 acres19.9 mi of trail
Buckatabon Game TrailMarshall Lake Game TrailHeart Lake Game TrailVilas Co Game Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
AOutdoors
Outdoors in Conover
More than half of Conover’s land is conserved: 53%
53% of Conover’s land is conserved, about 26,264 acres. 24,982 acres are parks and preserves, 19,306 per 1,000 residents. The biggest trail networks: Vilas County Forest (19.9 mi), Vilas County Forest- Heart Lake Unit (2.7 mi), Vilas County Forest- Ski Hill Unit (2.7 mi).
Ahead of 93% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
53%
26,264 acres · of 77.4 sq mi of land
Trails
36 mi
0.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
24,982 ac
19,306 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
76%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
5.4 mi
5.4 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
40
1 beach · 1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Conover?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Conover have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Conover is ahead of 93% of U.S. towns. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; park acres per resident rank highest, the share of residents near a park lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Conover’s overall grade.
Conserved land53% of the land · typical WI town 4% · U.S. 4%A+Trails0.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (36 mi) · WI 0.4 · U.S. 0.4BPark land19,306 acres of park per 1,000 residents (24,982 acres) · WI 31 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home76% 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 93%
LessMore
Water is 10% of Conover’s area (9 of 86 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 48%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from A− 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 Vilas County Forest, with 19.9 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Vilas County Forest- Heart Lake Unit
Nature preserve
950 acres2.7 mi of trail
Heart Lake Game TrailVilas Co Game Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Vilas County Forest- Ski Hill Unit
Nature preserve
934 acres2.7 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Vilas County Forest- Pioneer Creek Unit
Nature preserve
1,605 acres1.8 mi of trail
Pioneer Creek Game TrailTown Road 114
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Vilas County Forest- Muskrat Creek Unit
Nature preserve
676 acres1.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Vilas County Forest- Torch Lake Unit
Nature preserve
1,009 acres1.3 mi of trail
Buckatabon Game Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 10 parks & preserves
Vilas County Forest18,551 acres · 19.9 mi of trail · Vilas County Forestry
Vilas County Forest- Heart Lake Unit950 acres · 2.7 mi of trail
Vilas County Forest- Ski Hill Unit934 acres · 2.7 mi of trail
Vilas County Forest- Pioneer Creek Unit1,605 acres · 1.8 mi of trail
Vilas County Forest- Muskrat Creek Unit676 acres · 1.4 mi of trail
Vilas County Forest- Torch Lake Unit1,009 acres · 1.3 mi of trail
Vilas County Forest- Decker Lake Unit191 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
Upper Bucktabon Springs State Natural Area154 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Community Park36 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Town of Conover
Spruce Grouse Swamp State Natural Area391 acres
Who protects it
26,264 conserved acres
53% of Conover’s land. Water is left out: Conover has 77.4 square miles of land and 8.5 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Conover’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County24,480 ac
State natural resources2,187 ac
U.S. Forest Service658 ac
Town or city78 ac
Private owners2 ac
Local Conservation Area · 24,085 acState Conservation Area · 1,029 acState Recreation Area · 738 acNational Forest · 658 acState Resource Management Area · 649 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 158 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vilas County Forest Local Conservation Area | County | 24,085 | Open |
| Nicolet National Forest National Forest | U.S. Forest Service | 658 | Open |
| Scattered Forest Lands State Resource Management Area | State natural resources | 649 | Open |
| Scattered Forest Land - Nw State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 568 | Open |
| Natural Area State Conservation Area | County | 395 | Restricted |
| Spruce Grouse Swamp State Natural Area State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 394 | Restricted |
| Tamarack Rearing Station State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 168 | Open |
| Statewide Natural Area State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 119 | Closed |
| Upper Buckatabon Springs State Natural Area State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 119 | Restricted |
| Community Park Local Park | Town or city | 78 | Open |
3 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
4 places to go in Conover
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Conover
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Conover
1 playground without a name on the map.
Boat launches in Conover
1 boat launch without a name on the map.
Campgrounds in Conover
Buckatabon Creek CampgroundFee · In Vilas County Forest
DirectionsTrails & water
6 named trails and 40 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 4.7 mi
Buckatabon Game Trail3.0 mi
Heart Lake Game Trail2.1 mi
Pioneer Creek Game Trail1.4 mi
Marshall Lake Game Trail0.9 mi
Vilas Co Game Trail0.7 mi
Town Road 1140.3 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
10 ReservoirreservoirBaker LakelakeBennett LakepondBlueberry LakelakeCaspian LakepondChamberlain LakelakeClair LakelakeDeep LakelakeDeer LakelakeDenton LakelakeHeart LakelakeHunter LakelakeLake PleasantlakeLake of the HillslakeLawler LakelakeLittle Donahue LakelakeLittle Tamarack FlowageLower Buckatabon LakereservoirMarshall LakelakeMcleod LakelakeMud LakeMyrtle LakelakeNorth Twin LakereservoirNudist LakelakePine Island LakelakePioneer LakelakePollack LakePortage SpringReiter LakepondSoleit LakepondSpring LakeStormy LakelakeTellefson LakelakeTorch LakelakeUpper Buckatabon LakereservoirWilliams LakelakeWolf LakelakeBuckatabon CreekBuckaton CreekWisconsin River
Biking & sports
5.4 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
5.4 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
5Tennis
3Basketball
1Baseball
1Soccer
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Conover: May and August
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) | 9.0 | 10.3 | 11.8 | 13.5 | 14.9 | 15.7 | 15.4 | 14.1 | 12.5 | 10.8 | 9.4 | 8.6 |
| High (°F) | 21 | 26 | 38 | 51 | 65 | 74 | 77 | 75 | 67 | 53 | 38 | 26 |
| Rain (in) | 1.4 | 1.2 | 1.7 | 2.8 | 3.6 | 4.1 | 4.1 | 3.4 | 3.7 | 3.6 | 2.1 | 1.7 |
February is the driest month (1.2 in) and July the warmest (highs of 77 °F). 4.1 inches fall in July, the wettest month. The climate in Conover →
Next door
Conover 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conover | 53% | 0.5 | 19,306 | 76% | A |
| Phelps | 63% | 0.2 | 34 | 24% | B+ |
| Land O'Lakes | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Plum Lake | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Cloverland | 40% | 0.9 | 6,842 | 68% | A+ |
| Lincoln | 3% | 0.2 | 325 | 29% | B− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Conover
Where can I hike in Conover?
The longest trail networks: Vilas County Forest, 19.9 miles; Vilas County Forest- Heart Lake Unit, 2.7 miles; Vilas County Forest- Ski Hill Unit, 2.7 miles; Vilas County Forest- Pioneer Creek Unit, 1.8 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Conover is conserved land?
53% 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 Conover’s trails?
Vilas County Forest and Vilas County Forest- Heart Lake Unit don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Conover?
5.4 miles of bike routes are on the map: 5.4 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Conover?
211,763 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Conover or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 25,753 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Conover have?
Ahead of 93% 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 Conover 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 →