Dunn Heritage Park
Managed by Town of Dunn
31 acres0.8 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Corey Coyle · CC BY 3.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Dunn
33% of Dunn’s land is conserved: 5,847 acres
1,774 acres are parks and preserves, 371 per 1,000 residents. The biggest trail networks: Dunn Heritage Park (0.8 mi), Hook Lake/Grass Lake Wildlife and Natural Area (0.5 mi), Door Creek Wetlands Wildlife Area (0.5 mi). 84% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 86% of U.S. towns · #73 of 362 in Wisconsin. What drives it
Conserved land
33%
5,847 acres · of 27.5 sq mi of land
Trails
4.1 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,774 ac
371 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
84%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
4.9 mi
4.3 mi lanes · 0.7 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
7
1 beach · 5 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Dunn?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Dunn have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Dunn is ahead of 86% of U.S. towns, #73 of 362 in Wisconsin. Conserved land holds the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Dunn’s overall grade.
Conserved land33% of the land · typical WI town 4% · U.S. 4%A+Trails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (4 mi) · WI 0.4 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land371 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,774 acres) · WI 31 · U.S. 13AParks close to home84% of residents within a half mile of a park · WI 90% · U.S. 72%B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 86%
LessMore
Wisconsin towns of 2,500+ (362)Ahead of 80%
Water is 18% of Dunn’s area (6 of 34 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 27%.
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 Dunn Heritage Park, with 0.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Hook Lake/Grass Lake Wildlife and Natural Area
Nature preserve
875 acres0.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Door Creek Wetlands Wildlife Area
Managed by Dane County
500 acres0.5 mi of trail
No dogs
Directionsto the parking lot
Waubesa Wetlands State Natural Area
Nature preserve
576 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto Waubesa Wetlands Parking
All 15 parks & preserves
Dunn Heritage Park31 acres · 0.8 mi of trail · Town of Dunn
Hook Lake/Grass Lake Wildlife and Natural Area875 acres · 0.5 mi of trail
DirectionsDoor Creek Wetlands Wildlife Area500 acres · 0.5 mi of trail · Dane County
DirectionsWaubesa Wetlands State Natural Area576 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsSinaiko Park4 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · Town of Dunn
DirectionsLower Mud Lake Natural Resource Area356 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Dane County
DirectionsGoodland Park15 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsBabcock County Park31 acres
DirectionsFish Camp County Park16 acres
DirectionsSpartan Hills Park7 acres · Town of Dunn
Simpson Park2 acres · Town of Dunn
Capital Springs State Recreation Area1 acres · Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
Capital Springs State Park1 acres · Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
Sterna Park1 acres
Amundson's Landing1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
5,847 conserved acres
33% of Dunn’s land. Water is left out: Dunn has 27.5 square miles of land and 6.2 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Dunn’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits3,285 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)2,330 ac
State natural resources1,748 ac
County816 ac
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service142 ac
Joint111 ac
Agricultural Easement · 5,051 acState Recreation Area · 1,436 acState Conservation Area · 821 acConservation Easement · 400 acPrivate Conservation · 192 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 3,490 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hook Lake/Grass Lake Wildlife And Natural Area State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 852 | Open |
| Lower Mud Lake Fishery Area State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 271 | Open |
| Natural Area State Conservation Area | County | 209 | Restricted |
| Waubesa Wetlands State Natural Area State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 209 | Restricted |
| Waubesa Wetlands Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 192 | Open |
| Scattered Wildlife State Conservation Area | County | 148 | Restricted |
| Statewide Habitat Areas State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 145 | Restricted |
| Dane County Waterfowl Production Area Resource Management Area | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 142 | Restricted |
| Door Creek Local Recreation Area | County | 137 | Open |
| Scattered Wildlife - Sd State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 112 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
10 places to go in Dunn
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Dunn
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Dunn
4 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Dunn
Amundson's LandingIn Amundson's Landing
DirectionsBabcock Park Boat Launch
DirectionsMcConnel Street Boat Launch
DirectionsPlus 2 boat launches without a name on the map.
Trails & water
7 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
4.9 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
4.3 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
0.7 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
4Beach volleyball
1Basketball
1Tennis
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 Dunn
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 | 13.3 | 14.6 | 15.3 | 15.0 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.7 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 28 | 32 | 44 | 58 | 70 | 79 | 82 | 80 | 74 | 61 | 45 | 33 |
| Rain (in) | 1.5 | 1.5 | 2.1 | 3.7 | 4.2 | 5.6 | 4.4 | 4.1 | 3.6 | 3.0 | 2.3 | 1.7 |
January is the driest month (1.5 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 5.6 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Dunn →
Next door
Dunn and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Fitchburg19 miRutland10 miBlooming Grove8.5 miPleasant Springs8.1 miStoughton6.2 miDunn4.1 miMcFarland2.9 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dunn | 33% | 0.1 | 371 | 84% | A |
| McFarland | 8% | 0.6 | 48 | 99% | A |
| Fitchburg | 8% | 0.5 | 46 | 94% | A |
| Stoughton | 6% | 1.0 | 31 | 99%+ | A |
| Rutland | 13% | 0.3 | 1,104 | 39% | A− |
| Pleasant Springs | 4% | 0.2 | 198 | 51% | B |
| Blooming Grove | 33% | 3.7 | 281 | 98% | A+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Dunn
Where can I hike in Dunn?
The longest trail networks: Dunn Heritage Park, 0.8 miles; Hook Lake/Grass Lake Wildlife and Natural Area, 0.5 miles; Door Creek Wetlands Wildlife Area, 0.5 miles; Waubesa Wetlands State Natural Area, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Dunn is conserved land?
33% 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 Dunn’s trails?
Dunn Heritage Park and Hook Lake/Grass Lake Wildlife and Natural Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Dunn?
4.9 miles of bike routes are on the map: 4.3 of painted or protected lanes and 0.7 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Dunn?
21,846 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Dunn or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,812 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Dunn have?
Ahead of 86% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #73 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 Dunn 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 →