Kettle Moraine State Forest
Nature preserve
7,898 acres25.3 mi of trail
Kettle Moraine State Forest-Northern Unit Main Horse TrailIce Age TrailParnell Tower TrailButler Lake Loop+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Mitchell
39% of Mitchell’s land is conserved: 8,983 acres
227 acres are parks and preserves, 136 per 1,000 residents. The biggest trail networks: Kettle Moraine State Forest (25.3 mi). 27 miles of mapped trail cross Mitchell, 0.8 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 79% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
39%
8,983 acres · of 36.0 sq mi of land
Trails
27 mi
0.8 per sq mi of land
Park land
227 ac
136 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
9%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
1,168 ft
Conner Hill
Lakes & rivers
2
1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Mitchell?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Mitchell have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Mitchell is ahead of 79% of U.S. towns. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Mitchell’s overall grade.
Conserved land39% of the land · typical WI town 4% · U.S. 4%A+Trails0.8 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (27 mi) · WI 0.4 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land136 acres of park per 1,000 residents (227 acres) · WI 31 · U.S. 13AParks close to home9% of residents within a half mile of a park · WI 90% · U.S. 72%D
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 79%
LessMore
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 Kettle Moraine State Forest, with 25.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Mitchell Park
Park
6 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
8,983 conserved acres
39% of Mitchell’s land. Who manages Mitchell’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources8,847 ac
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service604 ac
State Resource Management Area · 8,495 acResource Management Area · 604 acState Recreation Area · 221 acState Conservation Area · 131 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kettle Moraine State Forest-Northern Unit-Iansr State Resource Management Area | State natural resources | 8,459 | Open |
| Sheboygan County Waterfowl Production Area Resource Management Area | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 604 | Restricted |
| Onion River Streambank Protection Area State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 131 | Open |
| Stream Bank Protection Fee Program State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 131 | Open |
| Nichols Creek Wildlife Area State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 88 | Open |
| Kettle Moraine State Forest State Resource Management Area | State natural resources | 36 | Closed |
| Rem-Areas-Onion River State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 2 | Open |
Things to do
8 places to go in Mitchell
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Boat launches in Mitchell
1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Scenic views in Mitchell
1 scenic view without a name on the map.
Peaks in Mitchell
Conner Hill1,168 ft elevation · In Kettle Moraine State Forest
DirectionsJohnson Hill1,152 ft elevation · In Kettle Moraine State Forest
DirectionsMcMullen Hill1,119 ft elevation
DirectionsGarriety Hill1,106 ft elevation · In Kettle Moraine State Forest
DirectionsPicnic areas in Mitchell
1 picnic area without a name on the map.
Campgrounds in Mitchell
Shelter #4 (Parnell Trail)In Kettle Moraine State Forest
DirectionsTrails & water
5 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Horses · 8.5 miUnpaved · 9.0 mi
Kettle Moraine State Forest-Northern Unit Main Horse Trail8.5 mi
Ice Age Trail7.4 mi
Parnell Tower Trail3.4 mi
Butler Lake Loop3.2 mi
Shelter #3 Access0.4 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
When to get out
September is the best month for walking in Mitchell
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 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 8.9 |
| High (°F) | 26 | 29 | 41 | 53 | 66 | 76 | 80 | 78 | 71 | 58 | 43 | 31 |
| Rain (in) | 1.5 | 1.3 | 1.9 | 3.4 | 3.6 | 4.3 | 3.8 | 3.6 | 2.9 | 2.8 | 2.0 | 1.7 |
February is the driest month (1.3 in) and July the warmest (highs of 80 °F). 4.3 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Mitchell →
Next door
Mitchell and its neighbors
Mitchell has the second most mapped trails of the 4 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Questions about parks and trails in Mitchell
Where can I hike in Mitchell?
The longest trail networks: Kettle Moraine State Forest, 25.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Mitchell is conserved land?
39% 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 Mitchell’s trails?
Kettle Moraine State Forest and Mitchell Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Mitchell?
37,639 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Mitchell or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 8,738 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Mitchell have?
Ahead of 79% 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 Mitchell 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 →