Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge
Managed by United States Fish and Wildlife Service
464 acres1.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: Corey Coyle · CC BY 3.0BOutdoors
Outdoors in Jamestown
Jamestown has 321 acres of parks, 164 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge (1.1 mi), O'Leary's Lake Recreation Area (0.7 mi). 8% of Jamestown’s land is conserved, about 1,482 acres. 29% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 62% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
8%
1,482 acres · of 30.5 sq mi of land
Trails
6.7 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
321 ac
164 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
29%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
2.7 mi
Lakes & rivers
2
5 beaches · 1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Jamestown?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Jamestown have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Jamestown is ahead of 62% of U.S. towns. 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 Jamestown’s overall grade.
Conserved land8% of the land · typical WI town 4% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (7 mi) · WI 0.4 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land164 acres of park per 1,000 residents (321 acres) · WI 31 · U.S. 13AParks close to home29% 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 62%
LessMore
Water is 10% of Jamestown’s area (3 of 34 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 7%.
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 Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge, with 1.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
O'Leary's Lake Recreation Area
Park
15 acres0.7 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Fenley State Recreation Area
Managed by Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
301 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Who protects it
1,482 conserved acres
8% of Jamestown’s land. Water is left out: Jamestown has 30.5 square miles of land and 3.2 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Jamestown’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Army Corps of Engineers1,054 ac
State natural resources290 ac
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service138 ac
Private owners107 ac
County3 ac
Recreation Management Area · 1,054 acUnknown · 289 acNational Wildlife Refuge · 138 acPrivate Park · 84 acPrivate Conservation · 23 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1 acre is a conservation easement, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 8 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ms Rv Pools 11-22 Recreation Area Recreation Management Area | Army Corps of Engineers | 1,054 | Open |
| Gift Lands Unknown | State natural resources | 289 | Open |
| Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife And Fish Refuge National Wildlife Refuge | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 138 | Restricted |
| Golf Course Private Park | Private owners | 84 | Open |
| Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge - Savanna District Private Conservation | Private owners | 23 | Closed |
Things to do
8 places to go in Jamestown
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Jamestown
5 beaches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Jamestown
1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Scenic views in Jamestown
1 scenic view without a name on the map.
Campgrounds in Jamestown
1 campground without a name on the map.
Trails & water
2 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
2.7 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
2.7 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
1Basketball
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 Jamestown
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) | 9.4 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.6 | 15.3 | 15.0 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.1 |
| High (°F) | 27 | 32 | 45 | 58 | 70 | 79 | 83 | 81 | 74 | 61 | 45 | 32 |
| Rain (in) | 1.3 | 1.5 | 2.2 | 3.9 | 4.3 | 5.6 | 4.8 | 4.0 | 3.7 | 3.0 | 2.3 | 1.7 |
January is the driest month (1.3 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 5.6 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Jamestown →
Next door
Jamestown and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Dubuque15 miPotosi7.7 miJamestown6.7 miHazel Green5.1 miDunleith Township4.9 miEast Dubuque4.9 miMenominee Township3.2 miParis2.8 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jamestown | 8% | 0.2 | 164 | 29% | B |
| Hazel Green | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Potosi | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Paris | — 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 Jamestown
Where can I hike in Jamestown?
The longest trail networks: Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge, 1.1 miles; O'Leary's Lake Recreation Area, 0.7 miles; Fenley State Recreation Area, 0.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Jamestown is conserved land?
8% 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 Jamestown’s trails?
Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge and O'Leary's Lake Recreation Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Jamestown?
2.7 miles of bike routes are on the map: 2.7 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Jamestown?
14,329 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Jamestown or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,344 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Jamestown have?
Ahead of 62% 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 Jamestown 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 →