Lunch Creek Wetlands State Natural Area
Managed by Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
605 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Dakota
Dakota has 2,117 acres of parks, 1,683 for every 1,000 residents
13% of Dakota’s land is conserved, about 2,725 acres. 1.0 miles of mapped trail cross Dakota. 51% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 65% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
13%
2,725 acres · of 33.0 sq mi of land
Trails
1.0 mi
0.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
2,117 ac
1,683 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
51%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
10
5 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Dakota?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Dakota have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Dakota is ahead of 65% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Dakota’s overall grade.
Conserved land13% of the land · typical WI town 4% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · WI 0.4 · U.S. 0.4C−Park land1,683 acres of park per 1,000 residents (2,117 acres) · WI 31 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home51% 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 65%
LessMore
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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
2,725 conserved acres
13% of Dakota’s land. Who manages Dakota’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources2,587 ac
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service526 ac
County250 ac
Private owners16 ac
State Recreation Area · 2,124 acState Conservation Area · 554 acResource Management Area · 526 acUnknown Easement · 127 acUnknown · 27 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 7 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| White River Fishery Area-Waushara State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 1,710 | Open |
| Waushara County Waterfowl Production Area Resource Management Area | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 526 | Restricted |
| Mecan River Fishery Area State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 414 | Open |
| Natural Area State Conservation Area | County | 250 | Restricted |
| Lunch Creek Wetlands State Natural Area State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 209 | Restricted |
| Bass Lake Fen State Natural Area State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 95 | Restricted |
| Gift Lands Unknown | State natural resources | 20 | Open |
| Wautoma Station Unknown | State natural resources | 8 | Open |
Things to do
6 places to go in Dakota
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Boat launches in Dakota
5 boat launches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Campgrounds in Dakota
White River Campgrounds
DirectionsTrails & water
10 lakes & rivers
When to get out
September is the best month for walking in Dakota
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 | 9.6 | 8.9 |
| High (°F) | 26 | 31 | 42 | 56 | 69 | 78 | 82 | 80 | 72 | 59 | 44 | 31 |
| Rain (in) | 1.2 | 1.1 | 1.9 | 3.4 | 4.1 | 4.6 | 3.9 | 4.0 | 3.3 | 2.8 | 2.0 | 1.6 |
February is the driest month (1.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 4.6 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Dakota →
Next door
Dakota 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dakota | 13% | under 0.1 | 1,683 | 51% | B+ |
| Wautoma | 3% | 0.4 | 57 | 96% | A− |
| Crystal Lake | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Richford | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Wautoma | 7% | under 0.1 | 1,244 | 47% | B |
| Marion | 1% | under 0.1 | 114 | 14% | C |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Dakota
How much of Dakota is conserved land?
13% 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 Dakota’s trails?
Lunch Creek Wetlands State Natural Area doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Dakota?
30,167 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Dakota or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 2,144 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Dakota have?
Ahead of 65% 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 Dakota 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 →