Waterloo Wildlife Area
Managed by Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
1,619 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
B−Outdoors
Outdoors in Portland
Portland has 121 acres of parks, 150 for every 1,000 residents
10% of Portland’s land is conserved, about 2,194 acres. 9% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 1.5 miles of mapped trail cross Portland.
Ahead of 48% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
10%
2,194 acres · of 35.2 sq mi of land
Trails
1.5 mi
0.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
121 ac
150 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
9%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
4.2 mi
Lakes & rivers
2
1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Portland?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Portland have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Portland is ahead of 48% 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 Portland’s overall grade.
Conserved land10% of the land · typical WI town 4% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (2 mi) · WI 0.4 · U.S. 0.4C−Park land150 acres of park per 1,000 residents (121 acres) · WI 31 · U.S. 13AParks close to home9% 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 48%
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 Waterloo Wildlife Area, with 0.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Mud Lake Wildlife Area
Managed by Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
144 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Waterloo Prairie State Natural Area
Nature preserve
22 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Waterloo Quartzite Outcrops State Natural Area
Managed by Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
22 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Who protects it
2,194 conserved acres
10% of Portland’s land. Who manages Portland’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources3,444 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)423 ac
County28 ac
State Recreation Area · 1,758 acState Conservation Area · 1,701 acConservation Easement · 436 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 436 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Waterloo - Mud Lake Wildlife Area State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 1,730 | Open |
| Waterloo Wildlife Area State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 1,612 | Restricted |
| Waterloo Wildlife Area 14 State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 61 | Open |
| Extensive Wl Habitat - Public Hunting Ground State Conservation Area | County | 28 | Restricted |
| Extensive Wl Habitat - Sd State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 28 | Open |
Things to do
1 places to go in Portland
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Boat launches in Portland
1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
2 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
4.2 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
4.2 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
When to get out
September is the best month for walking in Portland
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 | 10.4 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.7 | 15.4 | 15.1 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 27 | 31 | 44 | 57 | 69 | 79 | 83 | 80 | 73 | 60 | 45 | 33 |
| Rain (in) | 1.4 | 1.3 | 2.0 | 3.7 | 4.1 | 5.1 | 4.0 | 4.1 | 3.3 | 2.8 | 2.1 | 1.6 |
February is the driest month (1.3 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 5.1 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Portland →
Next door
Portland and its neighbors
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portland | 10% | under 0.1 | 150 | 9% | B− |
| York | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Elba | under 1% | under 0.1 | 116 | 20% | C |
| Waterloo | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Lowell | 6% | under 0.1 | 1,809 | 20% | B− |
| Shields | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Waterloo | 5% | 1.4 | 32 | 98% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Portland
Where can I hike in Portland?
The longest trail networks: Waterloo Wildlife Area, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Portland is conserved land?
10% 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 Portland’s trails?
Waterloo Wildlife Area and Mud Lake Wildlife Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Portland?
4.2 miles of bike routes are on the map: 4.2 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Portland?
12,539 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Portland or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 121 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Portland have?
Ahead of 48% 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 Portland 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 →