Lake Alpine Park
Park
19 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
COutdoors
Outdoors in Marion
Marion has 225 acres of parks, 114 for every 1,000 residents
0.5 miles of mapped trail cross Marion. 14% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 1% of Marion’s land is conserved, about 291 acres.
Ahead of 31% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
1%
291 acres · of 33.6 sq mi of land
Trails
0.5 mi
0.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
225 ac
114 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
14%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
5.3 mi
5.3 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
12
1 beach · 1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Marion?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Marion have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Marion is ahead of 31% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
C
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Marion’s overall grade.
Conserved land1% of the land · typical WI town 4% · U.S. 4%CTrails0.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · WI 0.4 · U.S. 0.4C−Park land114 acres of park per 1,000 residents (225 acres) · WI 31 · U.S. 13AParks close to home14% 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 31%
LessMore
NoteFew parks or trails are mapped in Marion. OpenStreetMap is mapped by volunteers and coverage varies from town to town, so a town with unmapped parks scores low on them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C+. 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.
Who protects it
291 conserved acres
1% of Marion’s land. Who manages Marion’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources290 ac
Private owners36 ac
State Recreation Area · 253 acRecreation or Education Easement · 37 acConservation Easement · 36 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 38 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Willow Creek Fishery Area State Recreation Area | Private owners | 229 | Open |
| Rem-Thorstead Creek State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 13 | Restricted |
| White River Marsh Wildlife Area State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 11 | Open |
Things to do
4 places to go in Marion
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Marion
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Swimming spots in Marion
1 swimming spot without a name on the map.
Playgrounds in Marion
1 playground without a name on the map.
Boat launches in Marion
1 boat launch without a name on the map.
Trails & water
12 lakes & rivers
Biking & sports
5.3 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
5.3 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
2Tennis
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
September is the best month for walking in Marion
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 | 30 | 42 | 56 | 69 | 78 | 82 | 80 | 72 | 59 | 44 | 31 |
| Rain (in) | 1.2 | 1.1 | 1.9 | 3.4 | 4.0 | 4.6 | 3.9 | 3.9 | 3.2 | 2.8 | 2.0 | 1.6 |
February is the driest month (1.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 4.6 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Marion →
Next door
Marion 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marion | 1% | under 0.1 | 114 | 14% | C |
| Mount Morris | 4% | 0.3 | 1,060 | 34% | B |
| Dakota | 13% | under 0.1 | 1,683 | 51% | B+ |
| Warren | — 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 Marion
How much of Marion is conserved land?
1% 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 Marion’s trails?
Lake Alpine Park doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Marion?
5.3 miles of bike routes are on the map: 5.3 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Marion?
27,754 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Marion or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 226 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Marion have?
Ahead of 31% 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 Marion 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 →