MacKenzie Center
Managed by Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
187 acres2 mi of trail
Ecology TrailHardwood TrailNature Trail Loop
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
BOutdoors
Outdoors in Lowville
Lowville has 2,655 acres of parks, 2,548 for every 1,000 residents
13% of Lowville’s land is conserved, about 2,969 acres. The biggest trail networks: MacKenzie Center (2 mi). 22% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 60% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
13%
2,969 acres · of 34.8 sq mi of land
Trails
2.1 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
2,655 ac
2,548 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
22%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
3
What kind of outdoors town is Lowville?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Lowville have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Lowville is ahead of 60% 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 Lowville’s 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 (2 mi) · WI 0.4 · U.S. 0.4C−Park land2,548 acres of park per 1,000 residents (2,655 acres) · WI 31 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home22% 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 60%
LessMore
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ 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 MacKenzie Center, with 2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Pardeeville Memorial School Forest
Nature preserve
39 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Empire Prairies State Natural Area - Hagen Prairie Unit
Managed by Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
18 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
2,969 conserved acres
13% of Lowville’s land. Who manages Lowville’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources2,659 ac
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service663 ac
State Recreation Area · 2,637 acResource Management Area · 663 acState Conservation Area · 22 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mud Lake Wildlife Area-Columbia State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 2,266 | Open |
| Columbia County Waterfowl Production Area Resource Management Area | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 663 | Restricted |
| Poynette Game Farm State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 187 | Open |
| Rocky Run Creek Fishery Area State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 185 | Open |
| Mud Lake Wildlife Area-Columbia 6 State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 22 | Open |
Trails & water
3 named trails and 3 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Ecology Trail0.6 mi
Hardwood Trail0.5 mi
Nature Trail Loop0.3 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
When to get out
September is the best month for walking in Lowville
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 | 10.4 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.7 | 15.4 | 15.1 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 26 | 31 | 43 | 56 | 69 | 78 | 82 | 80 | 73 | 59 | 44 | 32 |
| Rain (in) | 1.3 | 1.3 | 2.1 | 3.6 | 4.2 | 5.3 | 4.2 | 4.1 | 3.5 | 2.8 | 2.2 | 1.6 |
January is the driest month (1.3 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 5.3 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Lowville →
Next door
Lowville and its neighbors
Lowville has the second 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lowville | 13% | 0.1 | 2,548 | 22% | B |
| Rio | under 1% | 0.1 | 13 | 87% | C |
| Dekorra | 9% | under 0.1 | 514 | 54% | B |
| Wyocena | 6% | 0.2 | 399 | 8% | B− |
| Leeds | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Otsego | — 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 Lowville
Where can I hike in Lowville?
The longest trail networks: MacKenzie Center, 2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Lowville 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 Lowville’s trails?
MacKenzie Center and Pardeeville Memorial School Forest don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Lowville?
15,899 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Lowville or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 2,655 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Lowville have?
Ahead of 60% 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 Lowville 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 →