Lake Mills Wildlife Area
Managed by Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
2,751 acres6.6 mi of trail
Zeloski Marsh Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: Eli Wedel · CC BY-SA 4.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Lake Mills
Lake Mills has 1,633 acres of parks, 705 for every 1,000 residents
18% of Lake Mills’ land is conserved, about 3,435 acres. The biggest trail networks: Lake Mills Wildlife Area (6.6 mi), Korth Park (2.6 mi). 71% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 86% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
18%
3,435 acres · of 30.3 sq mi of land
Trails
10 mi
0.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,633 ac
705 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
71%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
5.9 mi
5.9 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
5
4 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Lake Mills?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Lake Mills have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Lake Mills is ahead of 86% of U.S. towns. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; park acres per resident rank highest, trail miles lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Lake Mills’ overall grade.
Conserved land18% of the land · typical WI town 4% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (10 mi) · WI 0.4 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land705 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,633 acres) · WI 31 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home71% of residents within a half mile of a park · WI 90% · U.S. 72%B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 86%
LessMore
Water is 7% of Lake Mills’ area (2 of 33 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 17%.
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 Lake Mills Wildlife Area, with 6.6 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Korth Park
Managed by Jefferson County
91 acres2.6 mi of trail
Western Prairie LoopUpper Prairie LoopSavanna LoopLower Prairie Loop
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Bean Lake State Natural Area
Managed by Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
167 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Mud Lake Fen And Wet Prairie State Natural Area
Managed by Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
154 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
All 5 parks & preserves
Lake Mills Wildlife Area2,751 acres · 6.6 mi of trail · Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
DirectionsKorth Park91 acres · 2.6 mi of trail · Jefferson County
DirectionsMud Lake Fen And Wet Prairie State Natural Area154 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
DirectionsBean Lake State Natural Area167 acres · Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
Rock Lake Park26 acres · Jefferson County
DirectionsWho protects it
3,435 conserved acres
18% of Lake Mills’ land. Water is left out: Lake Mills has 30.3 square miles of land and 2.3 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Lake Mills’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources2,973 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)1,659 ac
County311 ac
Town or city1 ac
State Recreation Area · 2,809 acConservation Easement · 1,659 acState Park · 164 acState Conservation Area · 163 acLocal Park · 149 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 313 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Mills Wildlife Area State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 2,646 | Open |
| Glacial Drumlin State Trail State Park | State natural resources | 164 | Open |
| County Park Local Park | County | 148 | Open |
| Scattered Wildlife - Sd State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 83 | Open |
| Scattered Wildlife State Conservation Area | County | 83 | Restricted |
| Extensive Wl Habitat - Sd State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 81 | Open |
| Extensive Wl Habitat - Public Hunting Ground State Conservation Area | County | 81 | Restricted |
| Tyranena Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
7 places to go in Lake Mills
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Lake Mills
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Lake Mills
Elm Point Landing
DirectionsSandy beach Boat Landing
DirectionsPlus 2 boat launches without a name on the map.
Campgrounds in Lake Mills
Sandhill StationFee · In Lake Mills Wildlife Area
DirectionsTrails & water
5 named trails and 5 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 5.4 mi
Zeloski Marsh Trail1.9 mi
Western Prairie Loop0.6 mi
Upper Prairie Loop0.6 mi
Savanna Loop0.3 mi
Lower Prairie Loop0.3 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
5.9 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
5.9 mi
off-road bike paths
When to get out
September is the best month for walking in Lake Mills
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 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.6 | 15.3 | 15.1 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 27 | 32 | 44 | 57 | 70 | 79 | 83 | 81 | 74 | 61 | 45 | 33 |
| Rain (in) | 1.4 | 1.4 | 2.1 | 3.6 | 4.1 | 5.3 | 4.1 | 4.0 | 3.4 | 2.8 | 2.2 | 1.7 |
February is the driest month (1.4 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 5.3 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Lake Mills →
Next door
Lake Mills and its neighbors
Lake Mills has the most mapped trails of the 6 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Mills | 18% | 0.3 | 705 | 71% | A |
| Deerfield | 13% | 0.1 | 1,437 | 38% | B |
| Aztalan | 3% | 0.2 | 596 | 66% | B+ |
| Waterloo | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Oakland | 4% | 0.1 | 25 | 56% | B− |
| Milford | 1% | 0.1 | under 1 | 1% | D |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Lake Mills
Where can I hike in Lake Mills?
The longest trail networks: Lake Mills Wildlife Area, 6.6 miles; Korth Park, 2.6 miles; Mud Lake Fen And Wet Prairie State Natural Area, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Lake Mills is conserved land?
18% 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 Lake Mills’ trails?
Lake Mills Wildlife Area and Korth Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Lake Mills?
5.9 miles of bike routes are on the map: 5.9 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Lake Mills?
14,434 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Lake Mills or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,633 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Lake Mills have?
Ahead of 86% 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 Lake Mills 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 →