Merrill Area Recreation Complex (M.A.R.C.)
Park
96 acres1.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Royalbroil · CC BY-SA 3.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Merrill
6% of Merrill’s land is conserved, and 98% of residents live within a half mile of a park
451 acres are parks and preserves, 48 per 1,000 residents. The biggest trail networks: Merrill Area Recreation Complex (M.A.R.C.) (1.5 mi), Council Grounds State Park (0.5 mi). 6% of Merrill’s land is conserved, about 300 acres.
Ahead of 85% of U.S. towns · #79 of 362 in Wisconsin. What drives it
Conserved land
6%
300 acres · of 7.5 sq mi of land
Trails
3.1 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
451 ac
48 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
98%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.3 mi
0.3 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
2
What kind of outdoors town is Merrill?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Merrill have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Merrill is ahead of 85% of U.S. towns, #79 of 362 in Wisconsin. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of residents near a park ranks highest, trail miles lowest.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Merrill’s overall grade.
Conserved land6% of the land · typical WI town 4% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (3 mi) · WI 0.4 · U.S. 0.4BPark land48 acres of park per 1,000 residents (451 acres) · WI 31 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home98% of residents within a half mile of a park · WI 90% · U.S. 72%A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 85%
LessMore
Wisconsin towns of 2,500+ (362)Ahead of 78%
Water is 7% of Merrill’s area (1 of 8 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 6%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from A− 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 Merrill Area Recreation Complex (M.A.R.C.), with 1.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Council Grounds State Park
Managed by Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
96 acres0.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
All 12 parks & preserves
Merrill Area Recreation Complex (M.A.R.C.)96 acres · 1.5 mi of trail
DirectionsCouncil Grounds State Park96 acres · 0.5 mi of trail · Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
Stange Park10 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsPrairie Trails Park7 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · City of Merrill
Lincoln County Fair Grounds43 acres
DirectionsRiverside Park26 acres
DirectionsGebert Park17 acres
Lion's Park11 acres
DirectionsAthletic Park6 acres
Kitchenette Park6 acres
DirectionsNormal Park3 acres
Streeter Square3 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
300 conserved acres
6% of Merrill’s land. Water is left out: Merrill has 7.5 square miles of land and 0.6 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Merrill’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city216 ac
State natural resources96 ac
County6 ac
Bureau of Land Management1 ac
Local Recreation Area · 121 acLocal Park · 102 acState Park · 96 acNational Public Lands · 1 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Merrill Area Recreation Complex Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 115 | Open |
| Council Grounds State Park State Park | State natural resources | 96 | Open |
| Riverside Park Local Park | Town or city | 44 | Open |
| Gerbert Park Local Park | Town or city | 16 | Open |
| Stange Park Local Park | Town or city | 10 | Open |
| Lions Park Local Park | Town or city | 10 | Open |
| Otts Park Local Park | Town or city | 7 | Open |
| Jack Pines Park Local Recreation Area | County | 6 | Open |
| Athletic Park Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Open |
| Kitchenette Park Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Open |
3 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
13 places to go in Merrill
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in Merrill
Bierman Family Aquatic CenterIn Merrill Area Recreation Complex (M.A.R.C.)
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Merrill
11 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Merrill
City of Merrill Dog ParkIn Merrill Area Recreation Complex (M.A.R.C.)
DirectionsTrails & water
2 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.3 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.3 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
11Tennis
4Basketball
1Volleyball
1Skate park
1Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →6 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 1 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Scott, T. B., Free LibraryBuilding · listed 1974
About itLincoln County CourthouseBuilding · listed 1978
About itMerrill City HallBuilding · listed 1978
About itCenter Avenue Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1994
About itFirst Street BridgeStructure · listed 1996
About itMerrill Post OfficeBuilding · listed 2000
About itWhen to get out
The walking year in Merrill
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 | 9.5 | 8.8 |
| High (°F) | 22 | 27 | 39 | 53 | 67 | 76 | 80 | 77 | 70 | 56 | 40 | 27 |
| Rain (in) | 1.2 | 1.0 | 1.7 | 2.9 | 3.7 | 4.8 | 3.8 | 3.7 | 3.8 | 3.1 | 1.9 | 1.4 |
February is the driest month (1.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 80 °F). 4.8 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Merrill →
Next door
Merrill and its neighbors
Merrill has the most mapped trails of the 2 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Merrill | 6% | 0.4 | 48 | 98% | A− |
| Pine River | under 1% | under 0.1 | 4 | 7% | D |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Merrill
Where can I hike in Merrill?
The longest trail networks: Merrill Area Recreation Complex (M.A.R.C.), 1.5 miles; Council Grounds State Park, 0.5 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Merrill is conserved land?
6% 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 Merrill’s trails?
Merrill Area Recreation Complex (M.A.R.C.) and Council Grounds State Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Merrill?
0.3 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.3 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Merrill?
12,124 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Merrill or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 452 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Merrill have?
Ahead of 85% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #79 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 Merrill 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 →