Muddy Creek Wildlife Area
Nature preserve
935 acres3.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Red Cedar
Red Cedar has 632 acres of parks, 310 for every 1,000 residents
39 miles of mapped trail cross Red Cedar, 1.0 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Muddy Creek Wildlife Area (3.4 mi), Hoffman Hills State Recreation Area (0.8 mi). 7% of Red Cedar’s land is conserved, about 1,814 acres.
Ahead of 82% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
7%
1,814 acres · of 39.1 sq mi of land
Trails
39 mi
1.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
632 ac
310 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
45%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
3.1 mi
0.1 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Red Cedar?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Red Cedar have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Red Cedar is ahead of 82% of U.S. towns. 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 Red Cedar’s overall grade.
Conserved land7% of the land · typical WI town 4% · U.S. 4%B+Trails1.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (39 mi) · WI 0.4 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land310 acres of park per 1,000 residents (632 acres) · WI 31 · U.S. 13AParks close to home45% 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 82%
LessMore
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 Muddy Creek Wildlife Area, with 3.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Hoffman Hills State Recreation Area
Nature preserve
86 acres0.8 mi of trail
SkylineSpring Run
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Red Cedar Cut-Off Slough Habitat Area
Managed by Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
81 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Who protects it
1,814 conserved acres
7% of Red Cedar’s land. Who manages Red Cedar’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources1,591 ac
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service1,154 ac
County314 ac
Resource Management Area · 1,154 acState Recreation Area · 1,114 acState Conservation Area · 703 acState Park · 88 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dunn County Waterfowl Production Area Resource Management Area | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 1,154 | Restricted |
| Muddy Creek Wildlife Area State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 382 | Open |
| Extensive Wl Habitat - Wd State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 261 | Open |
| Statewide Wildlife Habitat - Wd State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 261 | Open |
| Statewide Wildlife Habitat State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 261 | Restricted |
| Extensive Wl Habitat - Public Hunting Ground State Conservation Area | County | 260 | Restricted |
| Statewide Habitat Areas State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 128 | Open |
| Statewide Habitat Areas - Wd State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 117 | Open |
| Hoffman Hills Recreation Area State Park | State natural resources | 88 | Open |
| Scattered Wildlife - Wd State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 64 | Open |
2 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
2 places to go in Red Cedar
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Boat launches in Red Cedar
2 boat launches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
2 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 5.8 mi
Skyline0.6 mi
Spring Run0.2 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
3.1 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.1 mi
off-road bike paths
3.0 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
1Baseball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The walking year in Red Cedar
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 | 10.4 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.8 | 15.6 | 15.3 | 14.1 | 12.5 | 10.9 | 9.5 | 8.8 |
| High (°F) | 23 | 29 | 41 | 56 | 69 | 78 | 82 | 80 | 72 | 58 | 41 | 28 |
| Rain (in) | 1.0 | 1.1 | 1.9 | 3.1 | 4.2 | 4.9 | 3.8 | 4.2 | 3.6 | 2.9 | 1.9 | 1.4 |
January is the driest month (1.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 4.9 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Red Cedar →
Next door
Red Cedar and its neighbors
Red Cedar has the second most mapped trails of the 6 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Red Cedar | 7% | 1.0 | 310 | 45% | A− |
| Menomonie | 5% | 1.8 | 48 | 99%+ | A |
| Menomonie | under 1% | 0.3 | 29 | 43% | C+ |
| Elk Mound | 11% | 0.2 | 1,251 | 17% | B |
| Spring Brook | 3% | 0.1 | 648 | 20% | B− |
| Dunn | 2% | 0.7 | 2,834 | 28% | B+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Red Cedar
Where can I hike in Red Cedar?
The longest trail networks: Muddy Creek Wildlife Area, 3.4 miles; Hoffman Hills State Recreation Area, 0.8 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Red Cedar is conserved land?
7% 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 Red Cedar’s trails?
Muddy Creek Wildlife Area and Hoffman Hills State Recreation Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Red Cedar?
3.1 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.1 of off-road paths and 3.0 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Red Cedar?
11,657 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Red Cedar or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 632 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Red Cedar have?
Ahead of 82% 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 Red Cedar 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 →