Douglas County Forest
Nature preserve
6,048 acres4.4 mi of trail
Abandoned Railroad
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Hawthorne
Hawthorne has 6,106 acres of parks, 5,218 for every 1,000 residents
21% of Hawthorne’s land is conserved, about 6,056 acres. The biggest trail networks: Douglas County Forest (4.4 mi). 38% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 78% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
21%
6,056 acres · of 45.7 sq mi of land
Trails
13 mi
0.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
6,106 ac
5,218 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
38%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
3
What kind of outdoors town is Hawthorne?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Hawthorne have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Hawthorne is ahead of 78% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Hawthorne’s overall grade.
Conserved land21% of the land · typical WI town 4% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (13 mi) · WI 0.4 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land5,218 acres of park per 1,000 residents (6,106 acres) · WI 31 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home38% 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 78%
LessMore
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 Douglas County Forest, with 4.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Amnicon Town Forest
Managed by Town of Amnicon
8 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
6,056 conserved acres
21% of Hawthorne’s land. Who manages Hawthorne’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County5,899 ac
State natural resources107 ac
Private owners56 ac
Local Conservation Area · 5,899 acState Park · 103 acPrivate Park · 56 acState Conservation Area · 2 acState Resource Management Area · 2 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Douglas County Forest Local Conservation Area | County | 5,899 | Open |
| Wild Rivers State Trail State Park | State natural resources | 103 | Open |
| Norwood Golf Course Private Park | Private owners | 56 | Open |
| State Owned Islands State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 2 | Open |
| State Owned Islands - Douglas County - Steele Lake - Island No 1 State Resource Management Area | State natural resources | 1 | Open |
| State Owned Islands - Douglas County - Steele Lake - Island No 2 State Resource Management Area | State natural resources | 1 | Open |
Trails & water
2 named trails and 3 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 1.1 miHorses · 1.1 miUnpaved · 1.1 mi
Abandoned Railroad5.3 mi
ATV Trail1.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
When to get out
September is the best month for walking in Hawthorne
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) | 9.0 | 10.2 | 11.8 | 13.5 | 15.0 | 15.8 | 15.5 | 14.2 | 12.5 | 10.8 | 9.3 | 8.6 |
| High (°F) | 20 | 26 | 38 | 51 | 65 | 74 | 79 | 76 | 68 | 53 | 37 | 25 |
| Rain (in) | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.5 | 2.7 | 3.5 | 4.1 | 4.3 | 3.9 | 3.4 | 3.2 | 1.8 | 1.4 |
January is the driest month (1.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 79 °F). 4.3 inches fall in July, the wettest month. The climate in Hawthorne →
Next door
Hawthorne and its neighbors
Hawthorne has the most mapped trails of the 5 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hawthorne | 21% | 0.3 | 5,218 | 38% | A− |
| Bennett | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Amnicon | 3% | 0.2 | 841 | 38% | B |
| Lake Nebagamon | 12% | 0.2 | 915 | 72% | A− |
| Oakland | 31% | 0.2 | 10,601 | 20% | B+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Hawthorne
Where can I hike in Hawthorne?
The longest trail networks: Douglas County Forest, 4.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Hawthorne is conserved land?
21% 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 Hawthorne’s trails?
Douglas County Forest and Amnicon Town Forest don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Hawthorne?
119,942 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Hawthorne or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 6,106 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Hawthorne have?
Ahead of 78% 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 Hawthorne 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 →