Deforest Athletic Complex
Park
25 acres0.6 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
A−Outdoors
Outdoors in DeForest
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park in DeForest
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park. 516 acres are parks and preserves, 45 per 1,000 residents. The biggest trail networks: Deforest Athletic Complex (0.6 mi).
Ahead of 84% of U.S. towns · #82 of 362 in Wisconsin. What drives it
Conserved land
3%
200 acres · of 9.5 sq mi of land
Trails
5.8 mi
0.6 per sq mi of land
Park land
516 ac
45 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
9.7 mi
1.1 mi lanes · 8.6 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
2
What kind of outdoors town is DeForest?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does DeForest have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, DeForest is ahead of 84% of U.S. towns, #82 of 362 in Wisconsin. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of residents near a park ranks highest, conserved land lowest.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of DeForest’s overall grade.
Conserved land3% of the land · typical WI town 4% · U.S. 4%B−Trails0.6 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (6 mi) · WI 0.4 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land45 acres of park per 1,000 residents (516 acres) · WI 31 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to homeVirtually all residents within a half mile of a park · WI 90% · U.S. 72%A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 84%
LessMore
Wisconsin towns of 2,500+ (362)Ahead of 78%
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 Deforest Athletic Complex, with 0.6 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Conservancy Commons Park
Park
3 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 19 parks & preserves
Deforest Athletic Complex25 acres · 0.6 mi of trail
DirectionsFireman's Park14 acres · 0.4 mi of trail
DirectionsLiberty Land Park12 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsConservancy Commons Park3 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
Veterans Memorial Park4 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsWestern Green Park69 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsYahara Park7 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsDahl Park4 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Riverbend Park2 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Village of DeForest
Cherokee Marsh Natural Resource Area39 acres · Dane County
DirectionsSunnybrook Park24 acres
Reigstad Park14 acres · Village of DeForest
Marvin and Marie Schweers Dog Park6 acres · Village of DeForest Public Services
DirectionsMeadow View Park4 acres
DirectionsRiver's Turn Park3 acres
Tierney Park2 acres
Cherokee Marsh State Fishery Area1 acres · Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
Token Creek County Park1 acres · Dane County
Park Crossing1 acres
Who protects it
200 conserved acres
3% of DeForest’s land. Who manages DeForest’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city198 ac
State natural resources2 ac
Local Park · 197 acState Recreation Area · 2 acLocal Conservation Area · 1 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unknown Park Local Park | Town or city | 91 | Open |
| Western Green Park Local Park | Town or city | 44 | Open |
| Sunnybrook Park Local Park | Town or city | 20 | Open |
| Liberty Land Park Local Park | Town or city | 11 | Open |
| Firemans Park Local Park | Town or city | 11 | Open |
| Veterans Memorial Park Local Park | Town or city | 9 | Open |
| Meadow View Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Dahl Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Rivers Turn Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Cherokee Marsh Fishery Area State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 2 | Open |
1 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
19 places to go in DeForest
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in DeForest
19 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
2 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
9.7 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.1 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
8.6 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
10Tennis
8Baseball
5Football
2Basketball
1Soccer
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
September is the best month for walking in DeForest
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) | 9.3 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.7 | 15.4 | 15.1 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 27 | 32 | 44 | 57 | 69 | 79 | 83 | 80 | 73 | 60 | 45 | 32 |
| Rain (in) | 1.4 | 1.3 | 2.2 | 3.6 | 4.2 | 5.3 | 4.3 | 4.1 | 3.6 | 2.9 | 2.2 | 1.6 |
February is the driest month (1.3 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 5.3 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in DeForest →
Next door
DeForest and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Questions about parks and trails in DeForest
Where can I hike in DeForest?
The longest trail networks: Deforest Athletic Complex, 0.6 miles; Fireman's Park, 0.4 miles; Liberty Land Park, 0.3 miles; Conservancy Commons Park, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of DeForest is conserved land?
3% 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 DeForest’s trails?
Deforest Athletic Complex and Fireman's Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in DeForest?
9.7 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.1 of painted or protected lanes and 8.6 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near DeForest?
16,040 acres of parks and open public land lie inside DeForest or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 516 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does DeForest have?
Ahead of 84% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #82 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 DeForest 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 →