Outdoors in Ottawa

Ottawa has 856 acres of parks, 235 for every 1,000 residents

37 miles of mapped trail cross Ottawa, 1.1 per square mile of land. 9% of Ottawa’s land is conserved, about 1,987 acres. The biggest trail networks: Kettle Moraine State Forest - Southern Unit (24.5 mi), Paradise Valley Wildlife Area (3.4 mi), University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee at Waukesha Field Station (2.8 mi).

Ahead of 80% of U.S. towns · #108 of 362 in Wisconsin. What drives it

Conserved land

1,987 acres · of 32.7 sq mi of land

Trails

37 mi

1.1 per sq mi of land

Park land

856 ac

235 acres per 1,000 residents

Near a park

27%

of residents within ½ mile

Bike routes

4.9 mi

4.9 mi paths

Lakes & rivers

1 beach · 3 boat launches

What kind of outdoors town is Ottawa?

Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.

Room to roam235 acres of park per 1,000 residents; the typical U.S. town has 13.A trail town1.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, more than 83% of U.S. towns.Land that stays wild9% of the land is conserved; a typical Wisconsin town, 4%.

Outdoors grade

How much outdoors does Ottawa have?

On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Ottawa is ahead of 80% of U.S. towns, #108 of 362 in Wisconsin. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.

A⁻

OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Ottawa’s overall grade.

Conserved land9% of the land · typical WI town 4% · U.S. 4%A⁻Trails1.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (37 mi) · WI 0.4 · U.S. 0.4A⁻Park land235 acres of park per 1,000 residents (856 acres) · WI 31 · U.S. 13A Parks close to home27% 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 80%

LessMore

Wisconsin towns of 2,500+ (362)Ahead of 70%

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 - Southern Unit, with 24.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.

Kettle Moraine State Forest - Southern Unit

Managed by Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources

2,679 acres24.5 mi of trail

Ice Age TrailMoraine Ridge TrailGold LoopBlue Loop+1

Dog rules not recorded

Directionsto the trailheadWebsite ↗

Paradise Valley Wildlife Area

Managed by Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources

1,419 acres3.4 mi of trail

Dog rules not recorded

Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee at Waukesha Field Station

Nature preserve

93 acres2.8 mi of trail

Dog rules not recorded

Directionsto the parking lot

Ottawa Lake Recreation Area

Managed by Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources

747 acres1.1 mi of trail

Dog rules not recorded

Directionsto the parking lot

All 6 parks & preserves

Kettle Moraine State Forest - Southern Unit2,679 acres · 24.5 mi of trail · Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources

Directions

Paradise Valley Wildlife Area1,419 acres · 3.4 mi of trail · Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources

Directions

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee at Waukesha Field Station93 acres · 2.8 mi of trail

Directions

Ottawa Lake Recreation Area747 acres · 1.1 mi of trail · Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources

Directions

Perkins Wildlife Area461 acres

Ottawa Town Park41 acres

Who protects it

1,987 conserved acres

9% of Ottawa’s land. Who manages Ottawa’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.

State natural resources1,659 ac

USDA easements (NRCS)1,384 ac

Private owners3 ac

State Recreation Area · 1,475 acConservation Easement · 1,389 acState Park · 123 acUnknown Easement · 30 acRecreation or Education Easement · 25 ac

Good to know

Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 442 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
Paradise Valley Wildlife Area State Recreation Area	State natural resources	1,419	Restricted
Glacial Drumlin State Trail State Park	State natural resources	66	Open
Ice Age Trail State Recreation Area	State natural resources	56	Open
Ottawa Siata State Park	State natural resources	56	Open
Kettle Moraine State Forest-Southern Unit State Resource Management Area	Private owners	3	Open

Things to do

12 places to go in Ottawa

Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.

Campgrounds in Ottawa

Ottawa Lake CampgroundIn Ottawa Lake Recreation Area · Wisconsin DNR

Directions

Pinewoods CampgroundIn Kettle Moraine State Forest - Southern Unit · Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources

Directions

Trails & water

12 named trails and 11 lakes & rivers

Named trails

Open to bikes · 10.4 miHorses · 10.4 miUnpaved · 21.6 mi

Ice Age Trail4.2 mi

Moraine Ridge Trail3.5 mi

Gold Loop2.4 mi

Blue Loop1.8 mi

Green Loop1.1 mi

Scuppernong Springs Nature Trail1.0 mi

Purple Trail0.9 mi

Brown Loop0.7 mi

Observation Loop0.4 mi

Shower Path0.2 mi

2 more trails

Mackie Connector

0.2 mi

IAT Access

0.1 mi

Lakes & rivers tap for directions

Dutchman Lakelake Hunters Lakelake Hunters Millpond 17reservoir Marl Pitspond Myers Pond Ottawa Lake Pretty Lakelake Reagons Lakepond School Section Lakelake Utica Lakepond Bark River

Biking & sports

4.9 miles of bike routes

Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.

4.9 mi

off-road bike paths

Courts & fields

3Baseball

1Beach volleyball

Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.

When to get out

September is the best month for walking in Ottawa

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	10.5	11.8	13.3	14.6	15.3	15.0	13.9	12.4	10.9	9.7	9.0
High (°F)	28	32	44	57	69	79	82	81	73	60	46	33
Rain (in)	1.7	1.6	2.0	3.7	4.1	4.8	4.0	3.8	3.4	2.9	2.2	1.8

February is the driest month (1.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 4.8 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Ottawa →

Next door

Ottawa and its neighbors

Ottawa has the second most mapped trails of the 6 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.

Eagle45 mi Ottawa37 mi Genesee6.2 mi Summit5.0 mi Sullivan4.3 mi Dousman0.8 mi

Town	Conserved of land	Trail mi per sq mi	Park acres per 1,000	Near a park ½ mile	Outdoors
Ottawa	9%	1.1	235	27%	A⁻
Dousman	3%	0.3	10	85%	B⁻
Sullivan	14%	0.1	1,156	42%	B⁺
Genesee	3%	0.2	73	34%	B⁻
Eagle	5%	1.3	182	38%	A⁻
Summit	under 1%	0.2	14	37%	C

The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.

Questions about parks and trails in Ottawa

Where can I hike in Ottawa?

The longest trail networks: Kettle Moraine State Forest - Southern Unit, 24.5 miles; Paradise Valley Wildlife Area, 3.4 miles; University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee at Waukesha Field Station, 2.8 miles; Ottawa Lake Recreation Area, 1.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.

How much of Ottawa is conserved land?

9% 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 Ottawa’s trails?

Kettle Moraine State Forest - Southern Unit and Paradise Valley Wildlife Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.

Where can I bike in Ottawa?

4.9 miles of bike routes are on the map: 4.9 of off-road paths.

Is there public land near Ottawa?

38,199 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Ottawa or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 3,698 of them inside the town line.

How much outdoors does Ottawa have?

Ahead of 80% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #108 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 Ottawa neighbors.

Town Square →

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 →

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Ottawa has 856 acres of parks, 235 for every 1,000 residents

What kind of outdoors town is Ottawa?

How much outdoors does Ottawa have?

Conserved land, trails & bike routes

Pick a walk

Kettle Moraine State Forest - Southern Unit

Paradise Valley Wildlife Area

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee at Waukesha Field Station

Ottawa Lake Recreation Area

1,987 conserved acres

12 places to go in Ottawa

12 named trails and 11 lakes & rivers

4.9 miles of bike routes

September is the best month for walking in Ottawa

Ottawa and its neighbors

Questions about parks and trails in Ottawa

Trail talk

Where this page comes from