Necedah National Wildlife Refuge
Nature preserve
20,115 acres25.5 mi of trail
Whitetail LoopVisitor Center Karner Loop TrailObservation Tower TrailHarvey's Pond Trail+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Necedah
45% of Necedah’s land is conserved: 22,364 acres
1,863 acres are parks and preserves, 948 per 1,000 residents. The biggest trail networks: Necedah National Wildlife Refuge (25.5 mi), Meadow Valley Wildlife Area (0.6 mi). 8% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 76% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
45%
22,364 acres · of 78.5 sq mi of land
Trails
31 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,863 ac
948 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
8%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
1,043 ft
Petenwell Rock
Lakes & rivers
2
2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Necedah?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Necedah have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Necedah is ahead of 76% 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 Necedah’s overall grade.
Conserved land45% of the land · typical WI town 4% · U.S. 4%A+Trails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (31 mi) · WI 0.4 · U.S. 0.4BPark land948 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,863 acres) · WI 31 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home8% 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 76%
LessMore
Water is 6% of Necedah’s area (5 of 83 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 42%.
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 Necedah National Wildlife Refuge, with 25.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Meadow Valley Wildlife Area
Nature preserve
421 acres0.6 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Yellow River Wildlife Area
Nature preserve
201 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Yellow River Oxbows State Natural Area
Managed by Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
201 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
22,364 conserved acres
45% of Necedah’s land. Water is left out: Necedah has 78.5 square miles of land and 4.7 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Necedah’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service40,740 ac
County1,652 ac
State natural resources210 ac
Private owners39 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)31 ac
Bureau of Land Management2 ac
National Wildlife Refuge · 40,202 acLocal Conservation Area · 1,652 acConservation Area · 538 acState Recreation Area · 210 acPrivate Conservation · 39 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 31 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Necedah National Wildlife Refuge National Wildlife Refuge | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 40,241 | Restricted |
| Juneau County Forest Local Conservation Area | County | 1,652 | Open |
| Necedah Wildlife Management Area Conservation Area | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 538 | Restricted |
| Yellow River Wildlife Area State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 210 | Open |
| Northeastern States District Office National Public Lands | Bureau of Land Management | 2 | Open |
Things to do
5 places to go in Necedah
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Boat launches in Necedah
2 boat launches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Scenic views in Necedah
2 scenic views without a name on the map.
Peaks in Necedah
Petenwell Rock1,043 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
10 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 0.8 miUnpaved · 9.6 mi
Whitetail Loop1.6 mi
Visitor Center Karner Loop Trail0.7 mi
Observation Tower Trail0.6 mi
Harvey's Pond Trail0.5 mi
Boghaunter Boardwalk Trail0.4 mi
18th Street West0.4 mi
Boghaunter Meadow Beauty Trail0.3 mi
Shop Trail0.2 mi
Visitor Center Muskrat Loop Trail0.2 mi
Boghaunter Trailhead0.2 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
When to get out
September is the best month for walking in Necedah
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) | 25 | 31 | 43 | 57 | 69 | 78 | 82 | 80 | 72 | 59 | 43 | 31 |
| Rain (in) | 1.1 | 1.1 | 1.9 | 3.3 | 4.3 | 5.0 | 4.1 | 4.3 | 3.5 | 2.8 | 1.8 | 1.5 |
February is the driest month (1.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 5.0 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Necedah →
Next door
Necedah and its neighbors
Necedah has the most mapped trails of the 7 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Necedah | 45% | 0.4 | 948 | 8% | A− |
| Strongs Prairie | 2% | 0.5 | 395 | 8% | B− |
| Armenia | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Clearfield | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Kingston | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Cutler | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Germantown | 37% | 0.5 | 4,132 | 56% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Necedah
Where can I hike in Necedah?
The longest trail networks: Necedah National Wildlife Refuge, 25.5 miles; Meadow Valley Wildlife Area, 0.6 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Necedah is conserved land?
45% 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 Necedah’s trails?
Necedah National Wildlife Refuge and Meadow Valley Wildlife Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Necedah?
42,778 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Necedah or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,865 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Necedah have?
Ahead of 76% 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 Necedah 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 →