Ceresco Prairie Conservancy
Nature preserve
151 acres2.7 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Jacob Woodruff House · Photo: Royalbroil · CC BY-SA 3.0B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Ripon
Ripon has 74 acres of parks, 9.5 for every 1,000 residents
4.6 miles of mapped trail cross Ripon, 0.9 per square mile of land. 91% of residents live within a half mile of a park. The biggest trail networks: Ceresco Prairie Conservancy (2.7 mi).
Ahead of 65% of U.S. towns · #206 of 362 in Wisconsin. What drives it
Conserved land
2%
67 acres · of 5.0 sq mi of land
Trails
4.6 mi
0.9 per sq mi of land
Park land
74 ac
9.5 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
91%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
2
What kind of outdoors town is Ripon?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Ripon have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Ripon is ahead of 65% of U.S. towns, #206 of 362 in Wisconsin. Trail miles hold the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Ripon’s overall grade.
Conserved land2% of the land · typical WI town 4% · U.S. 4%C+Trails0.9 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (5 mi) · WI 0.4 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land9.5 acres of park per 1,000 residents (74 acres) · WI 31 · U.S. 13C+Parks close to home91% of residents within a half mile of a park · WI 90% · U.S. 72%A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 65%
LessMore
Wisconsin towns of 2,500+ (362)Ahead of 43%
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 Ceresco Prairie Conservancy, with 2.7 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Barlow Park
Park
23 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Selfridge Park
Park
8 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 6 parks & preserves
Ceresco Prairie Conservancy151 acres · 2.7 mi of trail
DirectionsAkin Park;Horner Park2 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · City of Ripon Wi
DirectionsMurray Park30 acres
DirectionsBarlow Park23 acres
Selfridge Park8 acres
Ceresco Park1 acres
Who protects it
67 conserved acres
2% of Ripon’s land. Who manages Ripon’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city67 ac
Local Park · 67 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elizabeth Murray Park Local Park | Town or city | 30 | Open |
| Barlow Park Local Park | Town or city | 24 | Open |
| Heritage Park Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| Selfridge Park Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Open |
| Ceresco Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
| Akins Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
| Eagle Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
1 places to go in Ripon
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Ripon
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
2 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 1.4 miUnpaved · 4.0 mi
Northwestern Trail1.2 mi
Mascoutin Valley State Trail0.3 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Northwestern TrailBike route
1.2 miMascoutin Valley State TrailBike route
0.3 miCourts & fields
14Tennis
4Basketball
2Baseball
2Football
1Soccer
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →14 places on the National Register, one a National Historic Landmark
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 1 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Jacob Woodruff HouseBuilding · listed 1974
About itSt. Peter's Episcopal ChurchBuilding · listed 1974
About itCeresco SiteSite · listed 1975
About itMarcellus Pedrick HouseBuilding · listed 1976
About itFirst Congregational ChurchBuilding · listed 1979
About itJohn Scott Horner HouseBuilding · listed 1984
About itWatson Street Commercial Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1991
About itRipon College Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1995
About itLongfellow SchoolBuilding · listed 1997
About itSouthwest Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2004
About itBaptist ChurchBuilding · listed 2007
About it2 more on the History page.
When to get out
September is the best month for walking in Ripon
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 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 8.9 |
| High (°F) | 26 | 30 | 42 | 55 | 68 | 78 | 81 | 79 | 72 | 59 | 43 | 31 |
| Rain (in) | 1.3 | 1.1 | 1.9 | 3.2 | 4.0 | 4.8 | 3.9 | 3.6 | 3.2 | 2.8 | 2.0 | 1.5 |
February is the driest month (1.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 81 °F). 4.8 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Ripon →
Questions about parks and trails in Ripon
Where can I hike in Ripon?
The longest trail networks: Ceresco Prairie Conservancy, 2.7 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Ripon is conserved land?
2% 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 Ripon’s trails?
Ceresco Prairie Conservancy and Murray Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Ripon?
2,360 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Ripon or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 74 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Ripon have?
Ahead of 65% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #206 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 Ripon 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 →