Brunet Island State Park
Managed by Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
98 acres0.4 mi of trail
Timber TrailSpruce Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Cornell Pulpwood Stacker · Photo: Jeff the quiet · CC0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Cornell
Cornell has 281 acres of parks, 215 for every 1,000 residents
94% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 7% of Cornell’s land is conserved, about 169 acres. 0.4 miles of mapped trail cross Cornell, 0.1 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 78% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
7%
169 acres · of 3.8 sq mi of land
Trails
0.4 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
281 ac
215 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
94%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
2.0 mi
2.0 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
1 beach
What kind of outdoors town is Cornell?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Cornell have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Cornell is ahead of 78% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Cornell’s overall grade.
Conserved land7% of the land · typical WI town 4% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (0 mi) · WI 0.4 · U.S. 0.4CPark land215 acres of park per 1,000 residents (281 acres) · WI 31 · U.S. 13AParks close to home94% of residents within a half mile of a park · WI 90% · U.S. 72%A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 78%
LessMore
Water is 12% of Cornell’s area (1 of 4 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 6%.
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 Brunet Island State Park, with 0.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Brunet Falls Park
Park
1 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
169 conserved acres
7% of Cornell’s land. Water is left out: Cornell has 3.8 square miles of land and 0.5 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Cornell’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources166 ac
Bureau of Land Management3 ac
State Park · 166 acNational Public Lands · 3 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brunet Island State Park State Park | State natural resources | 138 | Open |
| Old Abe State Trail State Park | State natural resources | 28 | Open |
| Northeastern States District Office National Public Lands | Bureau of Land Management | 3 | Open |
Things to do
5 places to go in Cornell
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Cornell
State Park Beach
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Cornell
Brunet Falls Park PlaygroundIn Brunet Falls Park
DirectionsMill Yard Park PlaygroundIn Mill Yard Park
DirectionsState Park PlaygroundIn Brunet Island State Park
DirectionsCampgrounds in Cornell
Brunet Island State Park CampgroundIn Brunet Island State Park
DirectionsTrails & water
2 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Timber Trail0.2 mi
Spruce Trail0.2 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
2.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
2.0 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
4Baseball
1Beach volleyball
1Football
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). The map also marks 2 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Cornell Pulpwood StackerStructure · listed 1993
About itWhen to get out
The walking year in Cornell
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 | 14.8 | 15.6 | 15.3 | 14.1 | 12.5 | 10.9 | 9.5 | 8.8 |
| High (°F) | 22 | 28 | 40 | 54 | 67 | 76 | 80 | 78 | 70 | 56 | 40 | 28 |
| Rain (in) | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.6 | 2.9 | 3.8 | 4.6 | 3.9 | 3.9 | 3.5 | 3.0 | 1.8 | 1.2 |
January is the driest month (1.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 80 °F). 4.6 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Cornell →
Next door
Cornell 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cornell | 7% | 0.1 | 215 | 94% | A− |
| Estella | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Cleveland | — 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 Cornell
Where can I hike in Cornell?
The longest trail networks: Brunet Island State Park, 0.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Cornell is conserved land?
7% 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 Cornell’s trails?
Brunet Island State Park and Mill Yard Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Cornell?
2.0 miles of bike routes are on the map: 2.0 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Cornell?
33,886 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Cornell or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 285 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Cornell have?
Ahead of 78% 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 Cornell 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 →