Jackson Marsh State Wildlife Area
Nature preserve
2,546 acres2.8 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
BOutdoors
Outdoors in Jackson
Jackson has 2,603 acres of parks, 656 for every 1,000 residents
13% of Jackson’s land is conserved, about 2,828 acres. The biggest trail networks: Jackson Marsh State Wildlife Area (2.8 mi). 25% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 63% of U.S. towns · #219 of 362 in Wisconsin. What drives it
Conserved land
13%
2,828 acres · of 33.0 sq mi of land
Trails
3.7 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
2,603 ac
656 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
25%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.1 mi
0.1 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Jackson?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Jackson have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Jackson is ahead of 63% of U.S. towns, #219 of 362 in Wisconsin. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Jackson’s overall grade.
Conserved land13% 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. 0.4CPark land656 acres of park per 1,000 residents (2,603 acres) · WI 31 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home25% 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 63%
LessMore
Wisconsin towns of 2,500+ (362)Ahead of 40%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ 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 Jackson Marsh State Wildlife Area, with 2.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Jackson Town Hall Park
Park
50 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Isadore & Lorraine Spaeth County Park
Park
22 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Who protects it
2,828 conserved acres
13% of Jackson’s land. Who manages Jackson’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources2,701 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits310 ac
State Recreation Area · 2,518 acUnknown Easement · 310 acState Conservation Area · 183 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 310 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jackson Marsh Wildlife Area State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 2,582 | Open |
| Stream Bank Protection Fee Program State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 60 | Open |
| Cedar Creek Streambank Protection Area State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 60 | Open |
Trails & water
1 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.1 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.1 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
5Baseball
5Tennis
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →2 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
When to get out
September is the best month for walking in Jackson
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 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 28 | 32 | 42 | 55 | 67 | 77 | 81 | 79 | 72 | 59 | 45 | 33 |
| Rain (in) | 1.5 | 1.4 | 1.9 | 3.6 | 3.7 | 4.4 | 3.6 | 3.7 | 3.1 | 2.7 | 2.1 | 1.8 |
February is the driest month (1.4 in) and July the warmest (highs of 81 °F). 4.4 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Jackson →
Next door
Jackson and its neighbors
Jackson has the second 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jackson | 13% | 0.1 | 656 | 25% | B |
| Cedarburg | 2% | 0.1 | 23 | 36% | C+ |
| Polk | 3% | 0.1 | 199 | 34% | B− |
| Trenton | 4% | under 0.1 | 134 | 48% | B− |
| Germantown | 1% | 0.3 | 16 | 74% | B− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Jackson
Where can I hike in Jackson?
The longest trail networks: Jackson Marsh State Wildlife Area, 2.8 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Jackson is conserved land?
13% 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 Jackson’s trails?
Jackson Marsh State Wildlife Area and Jackson Town Hall Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Jackson?
0.1 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.1 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Jackson?
17,684 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Jackson or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 2,603 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Jackson have?
Ahead of 63% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #219 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 Jackson 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 →