Kiel Marsh Wildlife Area
Nature preserve
17 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: self · CC BY-SA 2.5AOutdoors
Outdoors in Kiel
6% of Kiel’s land is conserved, and virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park. 2.5 miles of mapped trail cross Kiel, 1.0 per square mile of land. 110 acres are parks and preserves, 28 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 91% of U.S. towns · #42 of 362 in Wisconsin. What drives it
Conserved land
6%
94 acres · of 2.5 sq mi of land
Trails
2.5 mi
1.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
110 ac
28 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
4.6 mi
4.6 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Kiel?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Kiel have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Kiel is ahead of 91% of U.S. towns, #42 of 362 in Wisconsin. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of residents near a park ranks highest, conserved land lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Kiel’s overall grade.
Conserved land6% of the land · typical WI town 4% · U.S. 4%BTrails1.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (3 mi) · WI 0.4 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land28 acres of park per 1,000 residents (110 acres) · WI 31 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to homeVirtually all residents within a half mile of a park · WI 90% · U.S. 72%A+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 91%
LessMore
Wisconsin towns of 2,500+ (362)Ahead of 89%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from A− 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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Sission Park
Park
9 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 10 parks & preserves
Kiwanis Park4 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsKiel Marsh Wildlife Area17 acres
Belitz Park16 acres
DirectionsSission Park9 acres
Hingiss Park8 acres
DirectionsKiel Soccer Fields3 acres
City Park3 acres
DirectionsThielman Bark Park3 acres
DirectionsLion's Park2 acres
Big Rock Park2 acres
Who protects it
94 conserved acres
6% of Kiel’s land. Who manages Kiel’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city76 ac
State natural resources17 ac
Local Park · 43 acLocal Recreation Area · 34 acState Recreation Area · 17 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Belitz Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 25 | Open |
| Kiel Marsh Wildlife Area State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 17 | Open |
| Deurrwachter Park Local Park | Town or city | 12 | Open |
| Hingiss Park Local Park | Town or city | 9 | Open |
| Karls Sports Terrace Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 9 | Open |
| Kiwanis Park Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Open |
| Sisson Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Waack Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| City Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Lions Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
4 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Trails & water
1 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
4.6 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
4.6 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
1Tennis
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 Kiel
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) | 9.2 | 10.4 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.7 | 15.5 | 15.2 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 8.9 |
| High (°F) | 26 | 29 | 41 | 53 | 66 | 76 | 81 | 78 | 71 | 58 | 43 | 31 |
| Rain (in) | 1.5 | 1.2 | 1.9 | 3.3 | 3.7 | 4.3 | 3.7 | 3.5 | 2.9 | 2.9 | 2.1 | 1.7 |
February is the driest month (1.2 in) and July the warmest (highs of 81 °F). 4.3 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Kiel →
Next door
Kiel and its neighbors
Kiel has the second most mapped trails of the 3 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kiel | 6% | 1.0 | 28 | 99%+ | A |
| Schleswig | 1% | 0.2 | 207 | 19% | C+ |
| New Holstein | 2% | under 0.1 | 188 | 11% | C |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Kiel
How much of Kiel is conserved land?
6% 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 Kiel’s trails?
Kiel Marsh Wildlife Area and Belitz Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Kiel?
4.6 miles of bike routes are on the map: 4.6 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Kiel?
11,207 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Kiel or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 110 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Kiel have?
Ahead of 91% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #42 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 Kiel 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 →