Ableman's Gorge State Natural Area
Managed by Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
50 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Corey Coyle · CC BY 3.0C+Outdoors
Outdoors in Excelsior
Excelsior has 296 acres of parks, 179 for every 1,000 residents
4% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 1.0 miles of mapped trail cross Excelsior. 5% of Excelsior’s land is conserved, about 1,056 acres.
Ahead of 40% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
5%
1,056 acres · of 33.6 sq mi of land
Trails
1.0 mi
0.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
296 ac
179 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
4%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
932 ft
Diamond Hill
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Excelsior?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Excelsior have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Excelsior is ahead of 40% 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 Excelsior’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 (1 mi) · WI 0.4 · U.S. 0.4C−Park land179 acres of park per 1,000 residents (296 acres) · WI 31 · U.S. 13AParks close to home4% 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 40%
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 Ableman's Gorge State Natural Area, with 0.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Mirror Lake State Park
Managed by Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
74 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Who protects it
1,056 conserved acres
5% of Excelsior’s land. Who manages Excelsior’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits736 ac
State natural resources323 ac
County53 ac
Private owners17 ac
Town or city6 ac
Conservation Easement · 738 acState Recreation Area · 170 acState Conservation Area · 108 acState Park · 73 acUnknown Easement · 30 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 743 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 17 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dell Creek Wildlife Area State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 170 | Open |
| Mirror Lake State Park State Park | State natural resources | 73 | Open |
| Natural Area State Conservation Area | County | 53 | Restricted |
| Ablemans Gorge State Natural Area State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 53 | Restricted |
| Golf Course Private Park | Private owners | 17 | Open |
Things to do
1 places to go in Excelsior
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Peaks in Excelsior
Diamond Hill932 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
1 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
When to get out
September is the best month for walking in Excelsior
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 | 10.4 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.7 | 15.4 | 15.1 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 27 | 32 | 43 | 57 | 69 | 79 | 82 | 80 | 73 | 60 | 44 | 32 |
| Rain (in) | 1.3 | 1.3 | 2.2 | 3.9 | 4.4 | 5.2 | 4.4 | 4.3 | 3.7 | 2.9 | 2.1 | 1.7 |
January is the driest month (1.3 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 5.2 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Excelsior →
Next door
Excelsior 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Excelsior | 5% | under 0.1 | 179 | 4% | C+ |
| North Freedom | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Dellona | 11% | 0.2 | 1,410 | 40% | B+ |
| Baraboo | 20% | 0.3 | 2,249 | 49% | A− |
| Delton | 14% | 0.8 | 928 | 19% | A− |
| Reedsburg | 1% | under 0.1 | 35 | 37% | C |
| Freedom | — 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 Excelsior
Where can I hike in Excelsior?
The longest trail networks: Ableman's Gorge State Natural Area, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Excelsior 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 Excelsior’s trails?
Ableman's Gorge State Natural Area and Mirror Lake State Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Excelsior?
29,555 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Excelsior or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 296 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Excelsior have?
Ahead of 40% 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 Excelsior 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 →