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BandshelterPhoto: Eli Wedel · CC BY-SA 4.0
A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Lake Mills

13% of Lake Mills’ 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. 13% of Lake Mills’ land is conserved, about 340 acres. 137 acres are parks and preserves, 21 per 1,000 residents.

Ahead of 77% of U.S. towns · #122 of 362 in Wisconsin. What drives it

Conserved land
13%
340 acres · of 4.2 sq mi of land
Trails
0.5 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
137 ac
21 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
5.1 mi
1.2 mi lanes · 3.9 mi paths

What kind of outdoors town is Lake Mills?

Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.

Land that stays wild13% of the land is conserved; a typical Wisconsin town, 4%.Parks close to homeVirtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park.History along the way5 places on the National Register.
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 77% of U.S. towns, #122 of 362 in Wisconsin. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; trail miles pull it down.

A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Lake Mills’ 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 (1 mi) · WI 0.4 · U.S. 0.4CPark land21 acres of park per 1,000 residents (137 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 77%
LessMore
Wisconsin towns of 2,500+ (362)Ahead of 66%

Water is 7% of Lake Mills’ area (0 of 4 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 12%.

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.

1234
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.

Sandy Beach Park

Park
11 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot

Rotary Park

Park
11 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot

Faville Park

Park
9 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot

Commons Park

Park
4 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Who protects it

340 conserved acres

13% of Lake Mills’ land. Water is left out: Lake Mills has 4.2 square miles of land and 0.3 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.

Private owners167 ac
State natural resources104 ac
Town or city76 ac
County2 ac
Private Park · 167 acState Recreation Area · 82 acLocal Park · 76 acState Park · 22 acState Conservation Area · 2 ac
The biggest protected parcels
Parcel (PAD-US)Managed byAcresPublic access
Golf Course
Private Park
Private owners167Open
Lake Mills Hatchery
State Recreation Area
State natural resources79Restricted
Wallace Park
Local Park
Town or city28Open
Glacial Drumlin State Trail
State Park
State natural resources22Open
Tyranena Park
Local Park
Town or city11Open
Sandy Beach Park
Local Park
Town or city10Open
Faville Park
Local Park
Town or city9Open
Rotary Park
Local Park
Town or city8Open
Commons Park
Local Park
Town or city5Open
Lakeside Park
Local Park
Town or city3Open

4 smaller protected places aren’t shown.

Things to do

6 places to go in Lake Mills

Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.

Campgrounds in Lake Mills
Topel's Lakeside Park
Directions
Biking & sports

5.1 miles of bike routes

Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.

1.2 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
3.9 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
7Baseball
7Tennis
4Softball
2Volleyball
2Basketball
2Football
1Beach volleyball

Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.

History along the way

5 places on the National Register

The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).

History →
Fargo, L. D., Public LibraryBuilding · listed 1982
About it
Enoch J. Fargo HouseBuilding · listed 1982
About it
Lake Mills Downtown Commercial Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2019
About it
Mulberry Street Residential Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2019
About it
South Main Street Residential Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2020
About it
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.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)9.310.511.813.314.615.315.113.912.410.99.69.0
High (°F)273244577079838174614533
Rain (in)1.41.42.13.64.25.24.14.03.42.82.21.7

February is the driest month (1.4 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 5.2 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Lake Mills →

Next door

Lake Mills and its neighbors

Tap a town to see its outdoors.

Aztalan5.3 miMilford2.5 miLake Mills0.5 mi
TownConserved
of land		Trail mi
per sq mi		Park acres
per 1,000		Near a park
½ mile		Outdoors
Lake Mills13%0.12199%+A−
Aztalan3%0.259666%B+
Milford1%0.1under 11%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

How much of Lake Mills 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 Lake Mills’ trails?

Sandy Beach Park and Rotary Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.

Where can I bike in Lake Mills?

5.1 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.2 of painted or protected lanes and 3.9 of off-road paths.

Is there public land near Lake Mills?

10,199 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Lake Mills or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 137 of them inside the city line.

How much outdoors does Lake Mills have?

Ahead of 77% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #122 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 Lake Mills neighbors.

Town Square →
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 →