Marinette County Forest
Nature preserve
2,119 acres5.9 mi of trail
Big Hill LoopEsker Lookout LoopForest Road 801Almost Home Loop+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Lake
Lake has 3,238 acres of parks, 2,933 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Marinette County Forest (5.9 mi), Lake Noquebay State Wildlife Area (0.6 mi). 9% of Lake’s land is conserved, about 3,281 acres. 29% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 70% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
9%
3,281 acres · of 55.7 sq mi of land
Trails
17 mi
0.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
3,238 ac
2,933 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
29%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
2
What kind of outdoors town is Lake?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Lake have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Lake is ahead of 70% 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 Lake’s overall grade.
Conserved land9% of the land · typical WI town 4% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (17 mi) · WI 0.4 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land2,933 acres of park per 1,000 residents (3,238 acres) · WI 31 · U.S. 13A+Parks 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 70%
LessMore
Water is 6% of Lake’s area (4 of 60 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 9%.
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 Marinette County Forest, with 5.9 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Lake Noquebay State Wildlife Area
Nature preserve
1,076 acres0.6 mi of trail
Marsh SpurEsker Lookout LoopForest Road 801
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Lake Noquebay County Park
Park
27 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
3,281 conserved acres
9% of Lake’s land. Water is left out: Lake has 55.7 square miles of land and 3.8 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Lake’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County2,118 ac
State natural resources1,071 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)53 ac
Private owners37 ac
Bureau of Land Management1 ac
Local Conservation Area · 2,118 acState Recreation Area · 1,071 acConservation Easement · 53 acPrivate Park · 37 acNational Public Lands · 1 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 53 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marinette County Forest Local Conservation Area | County | 2,118 | Open |
| Lake Noquebay Wildlife Area State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 1,071 | Open |
| Beechwood Golf Course Private Park | Private owners | 37 | Open |
| Northeastern States District Office National Public Lands | Bureau of Land Management | 1 | Open |
Trails & water
6 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 1.9 miUnpaved · 5.4 mi
Big Hill Loop1.3 mi
Esker Lookout Loop1.2 mi
Forest Road 8011.1 mi
Almost Home Loop0.8 mi
Balsam Loop0.5 mi
Marsh Spur0.5 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
When to get out
The best walking months in Lake: May and August
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) | 9.1 | 10.3 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.8 | 15.6 | 15.3 | 14.1 | 12.5 | 10.9 | 9.4 | 8.8 |
| High (°F) | 26 | 30 | 41 | 54 | 67 | 77 | 81 | 79 | 71 | 57 | 43 | 31 |
| Rain (in) | 1.4 | 1.1 | 1.8 | 2.9 | 3.3 | 3.9 | 3.8 | 3.3 | 3.5 | 3.1 | 2.1 | 1.6 |
February is the driest month (1.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 81 °F). 3.9 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Lake →
Next door
Lake and its neighbors
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 | 9% | 0.3 | 2,933 | 29% | B+ |
| Beaver | 3% | 0.4 | 1,226 | 16% | B |
| Grover | 5% | 0.1 | 1,524 | 3% | B− |
| Middle Inlet | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Porterfield | under 1% | 0.4 | 16 | 5% | C |
| Stephenson | 18% | 0.8 | 5,512 | 22% | A− |
| Wagner | — 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 Lake
Where can I hike in Lake?
The longest trail networks: Marinette County Forest, 5.9 miles; Lake Noquebay State Wildlife Area, 0.6 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Lake is conserved land?
9% 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’s trails?
Marinette County Forest and Lake Noquebay State Wildlife Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Lake?
18,167 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Lake or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 3,239 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Lake have?
Ahead of 70% 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 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 →