Shaky Lake State Natural Area
Nature preserve
221 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Royalbroil · CC BY-SA 3.0COutdoors
Outdoors in Dale
Dale has 9.8 miles of mapped trails, 0.3 for every square mile of land
18% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 1% of Dale’s land is conserved, about 243 acres. 42 acres are parks and preserves, 15 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 34% of U.S. towns · #324 of 362 in Wisconsin. What drives it
Conserved land
1%
243 acres · of 30.4 sq mi of land
Trails
9.8 mi
0.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
42 ac
15 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
18%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
2
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Dale have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Dale is ahead of 34% of U.S. towns, #324 of 362 in Wisconsin. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
C
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Dale’s overall grade.
Conserved land1% of the land · typical WI town 4% · U.S. 4%CTrails0.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (10 mi) · WI 0.4 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land15 acres of park per 1,000 residents (42 acres) · WI 31 · U.S. 13BParks close to home18% 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 34%
LessMore
Wisconsin towns of 2,500+ (362)Ahead of 11%
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.
Rat River Wildlife Area
Nature preserve
23 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Windsong Conservancy
Nature preserve
15 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 5 parks & preserves
Shaky Lake State Natural Area221 acres
Rat River Wildlife Area23 acres
Daufen Memorial Park19 acres
DirectionsWindsong Conservancy15 acres
Armitage Park2 acres
Who protects it
243 conserved acres
1% of Dale’s land. Who manages Dale’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources243 ac
County219 ac
State Conservation Area · 439 acState Recreation Area · 24 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shaky Lake State Natural Area State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 219 | Restricted |
| Natural Area State Conservation Area | County | 219 | Restricted |
| Rat River Wildlife Area State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 24 | Open |
Things to do
1 places to go in Dale
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Dale
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
1 named trail and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 5.1 miHorses · 5.1 miUnpaved · 5.1 mi
Wiouwash State Recreation Trail5.0 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
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.
South Wiouwash State Recreation TrailBike route
5 miCourts & fields
3Baseball
2Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The walking year in Dale
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 | 14.8 | 15.5 | 15.2 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.5 | 8.9 |
| High (°F) | 25 | 29 | 41 | 55 | 68 | 77 | 82 | 79 | 72 | 58 | 43 | 31 |
| Rain (in) | 1.3 | 1.1 | 1.9 | 3.2 | 3.9 | 4.7 | 3.8 | 3.6 | 3.5 | 2.9 | 2.0 | 1.6 |
February is the driest month (1.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 4.7 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Dale →
Next door
Dale 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dale | 1% | 0.3 | 15 | 18% | C |
| Greenville | 1% | 0.4 | 19 | 54% | B− |
| Caledonia | 2% | 0.1 | 221 | under 1% | C+ |
| Hortonia | 1% | 0.2 | 29 | 17% | C |
| Clayton | 6% | 0.6 | 324 | 22% | B+ |
| 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 Dale
How much of Dale 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 Dale’s trails?
Shaky Lake State Natural Area and Rat River Wildlife Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Dale?
13,456 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Dale or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 42 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Dale have?
Ahead of 34% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #324 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 Dale 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 →