Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge
Managed by United States Fish and Wildlife Service
3,377 acres1.1 mi of trail
North LoopSouth Loop
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Onalaska
20% of Onalaska’s land is conserved: 4,451 acres
The biggest trail networks: Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge (1.1 mi). 129 acres are parks and preserves, 22 per 1,000 residents. 4.8 miles of mapped trail cross Onalaska, 0.1 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 68% of U.S. towns · #189 of 362 in Wisconsin. What drives it
Conserved land
20%
4,451 acres · of 34.1 sq mi of land
Trails
4.8 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
129 ac
22 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
68%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
10 mi
10 mi paths
Highest peak
1,125 ft
Sugarloaf
Lakes & rivers
3
3 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Onalaska?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Onalaska have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Onalaska is ahead of 68% of U.S. towns, #189 of 362 in Wisconsin. Conserved land holds the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Onalaska’s overall grade.
Conserved land20% of the land · typical WI town 4% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (5 mi) · WI 0.4 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land22 acres of park per 1,000 residents (129 acres) · WI 31 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home68% of residents within a half mile of a park · WI 90% · U.S. 72%B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 68%
LessMore
Wisconsin towns of 2,500+ (362)Ahead of 48%
Water is 20% of Onalaska’s area (8 of 43 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 16%.
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 Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge, with 1.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Apple Valley Bluff
Nature preserve
17 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Sandy Knolls Park
Park
3 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Thunderbird Hills Park
Park
2 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 5 parks & preserves
Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge3,377 acres · 1.1 mi of trail · United States Fish and Wildlife Service
DirectionsApple Valley Bluff17 acres
Sandy Knolls Park3 acres
Thunderbird Hills Park2 acres
Greens Coulee Nature Preserve1 acres
Who protects it
4,451 conserved acres
20% of Onalaska’s land. Water is left out: Onalaska has 34.1 square miles of land and 8.4 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Onalaska’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service8,533 ac
State natural resources138 ac
Town or city41 ac
Private owners39 ac
National Wildlife Refuge · 8,533 acState Park · 85 acState Recreation Area · 54 acLocal Park · 41 acRecreation or Education Easement · 39 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1 acre is a conservation easement, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife And Fish Refuge National Wildlife Refuge | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 8,533 | Restricted |
| Great River State Trail State Park | State natural resources | 85 | Open |
| La Crosse Area Comprehensive Fishery Area State Recreation Area | Private owners | 39 | Open |
| Mississippi Islands Wildlife Area State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 15 | Restricted |
| Swarthout Park Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| Marvin Gardens Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Roth Field Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Strawberry Commons Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Apple Valley Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Thunderbird Hills Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
6 places to go in Onalaska
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Onalaska
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in Onalaska
Scenic views in Onalaska
Carlson Point
DirectionsPeaks in Onalaska
Sugarloaf1,125 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
2 named trails and 3 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 1.1 mi
North Loop0.6 mi
South Loop0.4 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
10 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
10 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
2Baseball
2Tennis
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The walking year in Onalaska
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 | 31 | 44 | 58 | 70 | 79 | 83 | 81 | 73 | 60 | 44 | 31 |
| Rain (in) | 1.1 | 1.1 | 1.9 | 3.8 | 4.7 | 5.1 | 4.3 | 4.2 | 3.8 | 2.7 | 1.9 | 1.4 |
February is the driest month (1.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 5.1 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Onalaska →
Next door
Onalaska and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Questions about parks and trails in Onalaska
Where can I hike in Onalaska?
The longest trail networks: Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge, 1.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Onalaska is conserved land?
20% 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 Onalaska’s trails?
Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge and Apple Valley Bluff don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Onalaska?
10 miles of bike routes are on the map: 10 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Onalaska?
20,157 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Onalaska or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 129 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Onalaska have?
Ahead of 68% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #189 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 Onalaska 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 →