Saint Croix National Scenic Riverway
Managed by National Park Service
548 acres
Dogs usually limited
Directionsto the trail signWebsite ↗
DOutdoors
Outdoors in Eureka
Few parks or trails are on the map in Eureka
1% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 0.3 miles of mapped trail cross Eureka. 1 acre is park or preserve, 0.6 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 12% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
5%
1,561 acres · of 53.6 sq mi of land
Trails
0.3 mi
0.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
1 ac
0.6 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
1%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.0 mi
1.0 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
17
1 boat launch
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Eureka have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Eureka is ahead of 12% of U.S. towns. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
D
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Eureka’s overall grade.
Conserved land5% of the land · typical WI town 4% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (0 mi) · WI 0.4 · U.S. 0.4DPark land0.6 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1 acre) · WI 31 · U.S. 13DParks close to home1% of residents within a half mile of a park · WI 90% · U.S. 72%D
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 12%
LessMore
NoteFew parks or trails are mapped in Eureka. OpenStreetMap is mapped by volunteers and coverage varies from town to town, so a town with unmapped parks scores low on them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C−. 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.
Governor Knowles State Forest
Nature preserve
241 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Wild River State Park
Managed by Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
10 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Who protects it
1,561 conserved acres
5% of Eureka’s land. Who manages Eureka’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
National Park Service1,314 ac
Other or Unknown Federal Land703 ac
State natural resources245 ac
Conservation Easement · 1,407 acWild and Scenic River · 611 acState Resource Management Area · 244 acState Recreation Area · 1 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 705 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saint Croix National Scenic Riverway Wild and Scenic River | National Park Service | 611 | Open |
| Governor Knowles State Forest State Resource Management Area | State natural resources | 244 | Open |
| Twin Lake Public Access Eureka State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 1 | Restricted |
Things to do
2 places to go in Eureka
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Boat launches in Eureka
1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Campgrounds in Eureka
1 campground without a name on the map.
Trails & water
17 lakes & rivers
Biking & sports
1.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.0 mi
off-road bike paths
When to get out
The walking year in Eureka
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) | 9.1 | 10.3 | 11.8 | 13.5 | 14.9 | 15.7 | 15.3 | 14.1 | 12.5 | 10.8 | 9.4 | 8.7 |
| High (°F) | 21 | 27 | 40 | 55 | 67 | 77 | 81 | 79 | 70 | 56 | 40 | 27 |
| Rain (in) | 0.8 | 0.9 | 1.5 | 2.7 | 4.1 | 4.4 | 4.5 | 4.1 | 3.5 | 3.1 | 1.7 | 1.2 |
January is the driest month (0.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 81 °F). 4.5 inches fall in July, the wettest month. The climate in Eureka →
Next door
Eureka 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eureka | 5% | under 0.1 | 1 | 1% | D |
| Milltown | 1% | 0.2 | 34 | 15% | C |
| Laketown | 1% | under 0.1 | 32 | 2% | C− |
| St. Croix Falls | 7% | 0.3 | 816 | 41% | B+ |
| Sterling | — 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 Eureka
How much of Eureka is conserved land?
5% 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 Eureka’s trails?
Saint Croix National Scenic Riverway and Governor Knowles State Forest don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Eureka?
1.0 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.0 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Eureka?
37,062 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Eureka or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 858 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Eureka have?
Ahead of 12% 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 Eureka 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 →