New Glarus Woods State Park
Managed by Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
428 acres6.3 mi of trail
Havenridge Nature TrailBison Nature TrailWalnut TrailBasswood Nature Trail+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
BOutdoors
Outdoors in New Glarus
New Glarus has 484 acres of parks, 333 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: New Glarus Woods State Park (6.3 mi). 32% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 7.2 miles of mapped trail cross New Glarus, 0.2 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 56% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
4%
768 acres · of 34.0 sq mi of land
Trails
7.2 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
484 ac
333 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
32%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
2.4 mi
2.4 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is New Glarus?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does New Glarus have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, New Glarus is ahead of 56% 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 New Glarus’ overall grade.
Conserved land4% of the land · typical WI town 4% · U.S. 4%B−Trails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (7 mi) · WI 0.4 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land333 acres of park per 1,000 residents (484 acres) · WI 31 · U.S. 13AParks close to home32% 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 56%
LessMore
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to B+. 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 New Glarus Woods State Park, with 6.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Wilhelm Tell Shooting Park
Park
4 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
768 conserved acres
4% of New Glarus’ land. Who manages New Glarus’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources522 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits245 ac
State Park · 446 acConservation Easement · 321 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 322 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Glarus Woods State Park State Park | State natural resources | 429 | Open |
| Sugar River State Trail State Park | State natural resources | 18 | Open |
Things to do
8 places to go in New Glarus
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in New Glarus
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Scenic views in New Glarus
ADA Wildlife Observation BlindIn New Glarus Woods State Park
DirectionsPlus 1 scenic view without a name on the map.
Picnic areas in New Glarus
2 picnic areas without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Campgrounds in New Glarus
Group CampingIn New Glarus Woods State Park
DirectionsNew Glarus Woods State Park CampgroundIn New Glarus Woods State Park
DirectionsWalk-to CampsitesIn New Glarus Woods State Park
DirectionsTrails & water
8 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 6.4 mi
Havenridge Nature Trail3.5 mi
Bison Nature Trail0.7 mi
Walnut Trail0.5 mi
Basswood Nature Trail0.4 mi
Vista Trail0.3 mi
Chattermark Trail0.2 mi
Fox Trail0.2 mi
Great Oak Trail0.2 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
2.4 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
2.4 mi
off-road bike paths
When to get out
September is the best month for walking in New Glarus
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) | 9.4 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.6 | 15.3 | 15.0 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 27 | 32 | 44 | 58 | 70 | 79 | 83 | 80 | 74 | 61 | 45 | 33 |
| Rain (in) | 1.4 | 1.5 | 2.1 | 3.8 | 4.2 | 5.5 | 4.3 | 4.2 | 3.8 | 3.0 | 2.4 | 1.7 |
January is the driest month (1.4 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 5.5 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in New Glarus →
Next door
New Glarus and its neighbors
New Glarus has the second most mapped trails of the 5 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Glarus | 4% | 0.2 | 333 | 32% | B |
| Primrose | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Exeter | 3% | 0.2 | 295 | 32% | B |
| York | 1% | under 0.1 | under 1 | under 1% | D− |
| Washington | — 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 New Glarus
Where can I hike in New Glarus?
The longest trail networks: New Glarus Woods State Park, 6.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of New Glarus is conserved land?
4% 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 New Glarus’ trails?
New Glarus Woods State Park and Wilhelm Tell Shooting Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in New Glarus?
2.4 miles of bike routes are on the map: 2.4 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near New Glarus?
7,068 acres of parks and open public land lie inside New Glarus or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 484 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does New Glarus have?
Ahead of 56% 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 New Glarus 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 →