Head Gates Park
Park
6 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
C+Outdoors
Outdoors in Decatur
Decatur has 62 acres of parks, 33 for every 1,000 residents
2% of Decatur’s land is conserved, about 329 acres. 32% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 11 miles of mapped trail cross Decatur, 0.3 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 45% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
2%
329 acres · of 34.2 sq mi of land
Trails
11 mi
0.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
62 ac
33 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
32%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
5.1 mi
0.1 mi lanes · 4.3 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
2
2 boat launches
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Decatur have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Decatur is ahead of 45% of U.S. towns. 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 Decatur’s overall grade.
Conserved land2% of the land · typical WI town 4% · U.S. 4%C+Trails0.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (11 mi) · WI 0.4 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land33 acres of park per 1,000 residents (62 acres) · WI 31 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home32% 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 45%
LessMore
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
The longest trail network is Head Gates Park, with 0.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Three Waters Reserve
Nature preserve
144 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Who protects it
329 conserved acres
2% of Decatur’s land. Who manages Decatur’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
USDA easements (NRCS)195 ac
State natural resources114 ac
County79 ac
Town or city16 ac
Bureau of Land Management4 ac
Conservation Easement · 195 acState Conservation Area · 158 acState Park · 35 acLocal Park · 16 acNational Public Lands · 4 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 195 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Natural Area State Conservation Area | County | 79 | Restricted |
| Green Co Prairies (Mural Bluff Prairie) Sna State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 67 | Restricted |
| Sugar River State Trail State Park | State natural resources | 35 | Open |
| Ward Swartz Decatur Woods State Natural Area State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 12 | Restricted |
| Decatur Park Local Park | Town or city | 11 | Open |
| Headgates Park Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Open |
| Northeastern States District Office National Public Lands | Bureau of Land Management | 4 | Open |
Things to do
4 places to go in Decatur
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Decatur
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in Decatur
2 boat launches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Campgrounds in Decatur
1 campground without a name on the map.
Trails & water
2 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
5.1 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
4.3 mi
off-road bike paths
0.7 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
When to get out
The walking year in Decatur
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) | 9.4 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.6 | 15.3 | 15.0 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.1 |
| High (°F) | 28 | 33 | 45 | 59 | 71 | 80 | 83 | 82 | 75 | 62 | 46 | 33 |
| Rain (in) | 1.5 | 1.6 | 2.1 | 3.6 | 4.1 | 5.5 | 4.1 | 4.3 | 3.8 | 2.9 | 2.4 | 1.9 |
January is the driest month (1.5 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 5.5 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Decatur →
Next door
Decatur and its neighbors
Decatur 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Decatur | 2% | 0.3 | 33 | 32% | C+ |
| Brodhead | 2% | 0.6 | 9 | 84% | B |
| Sylvester | under 1% | 0.2 | 4 | 8% | D |
| Albany | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Spring Grove | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Spring Valley | — 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 Decatur
Where can I hike in Decatur?
The longest trail networks: Head Gates Park, 0.4 miles; Three Waters Reserve, 0.2 miles; Decatur Park, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Decatur is conserved land?
2% 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 Decatur’s trails?
Head Gates Park and Three Waters Reserve don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Decatur?
5.1 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.1 of painted or protected lanes, 4.3 of off-road paths and 0.7 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Decatur?
4,065 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Decatur or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 66 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Decatur have?
Ahead of 45% 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 Decatur 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 →