Governor Earl Peshtigo River State Forest
Managed by Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
732 acres8.4 mi of trail
East LoopRiver TrailOut & Back
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Doremo · CC BY-SA 3.0COutdoors
Outdoors in Porterfield
Porterfield has 18 miles of mapped trails, 0.4 for every square mile of land
The biggest trail networks: Governor Earl Peshtigo River State Forest (8.4 mi). 5% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 29 acres are parks and preserves, 16 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 27% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
under 1%
96 acres · of 51.7 sq mi of land
Trails
18 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
29 ac
16 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
5%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
2
3 boat launches
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Porterfield have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Porterfield is ahead of 27% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
C
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Porterfield’s overall grade.
Conserved landunder 1% of the land · typical WI town 4% · U.S. 4%C−Trails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (18 mi) · WI 0.4 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land16 acres of park per 1,000 residents (29 acres) · WI 31 · U.S. 13BParks close to home5% 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 27%
LessMore
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C+. 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 Governor Earl Peshtigo River State Forest, with 8.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Crystal Springs Wayside
Park
12 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
96 conserved acres
under 1% of Porterfield’s land. Who manages Porterfield’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service90 ac
Bureau of Land Management6 ac
State natural resources2 ac
Conservation Easement · 90 acNational Public Lands · 6 acState Recreation Area · 2 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 90 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northeastern States District Office National Public Lands | Bureau of Land Management | 6 | Open |
| Statewide Public Access State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 1 | Open |
| Cox Landing State Public Access State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 1 | Open |
Things to do
6 places to go in Porterfield
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Boat launches in Porterfield
Boat Landing No. 1In Governor Earl Peshtigo River State Forest
DirectionsPlus 2 boat launches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Fishing spots in Porterfield
Bagley Fishing Pier
DirectionsCampgrounds in Porterfield
Green's Green Acres Campground
DirectionsGreen's Green Acres Campground
DirectionsTrails & water
3 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 0.7 miHorses · 0.7 miUnpaved · 10.5 mi
East Loop1.5 mi
River Trail1.2 mi
Out & Back0.4 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
When to get out
The best walking months in Porterfield: May and August
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) | 9.1 | 10.3 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.8 | 15.6 | 15.3 | 14.1 | 12.5 | 10.9 | 9.5 | 8.8 |
| High (°F) | 26 | 30 | 40 | 53 | 66 | 76 | 80 | 79 | 71 | 57 | 43 | 31 |
| Rain (in) | 1.4 | 1.1 | 1.7 | 2.8 | 3.3 | 3.8 | 3.8 | 3.3 | 3.5 | 3.2 | 2.1 | 1.7 |
February is the driest month (1.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 80 °F). 3.8 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Porterfield →
Next door
Porterfield and its neighbors
Porterfield 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Porterfield | under 1% | 0.4 | 16 | 5% | C |
| Lake | 9% | 0.3 | 2,933 | 29% | B+ |
| Wagner | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Marinette | 4% | 0.2 | 25 | 90% | B+ |
| Grover | 5% | 0.1 | 1,524 | 3% | B− |
| Peshtigo | 18% | 0.3 | 1,525 | 32% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Porterfield
Where can I hike in Porterfield?
The longest trail networks: Governor Earl Peshtigo River State Forest, 8.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Porterfield is conserved land?
under 1% 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 Porterfield’s trails?
Governor Earl Peshtigo River State Forest and Crystal Springs Wayside don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Porterfield?
21,808 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Porterfield or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,016 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Porterfield have?
Ahead of 27% 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 Porterfield 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 →