W.R. Wadewitz Nature Camp
Park
176 acres4.9 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: I, the copyright holder of this work, hereby publish it under the following license: · CC BY-SA 3.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Rochester
Rochester has 1,327 acres of parks, 353 for every 1,000 residents
12% of Rochester’s land is conserved, about 1,286 acres. 16 miles of mapped trail cross Rochester, 0.9 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: W.R. Wadewitz Nature Camp (4.9 mi), Honey Creek Wildlife Area - Cherry Lake Unit (3.1 mi), Saller Woods Park (3.1 mi).
Ahead of 94% of U.S. towns · #29 of 362 in Wisconsin. What drives it
Conserved land
12%
1,286 acres · of 17.4 sq mi of land
Trails
16 mi
0.9 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,327 ac
353 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
88%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
4.8 mi
0.7 mi lanes · 3.9 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
4
What kind of outdoors town is Rochester?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Rochester have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Rochester is ahead of 94% of U.S. towns, #29 of 362 in Wisconsin. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; park acres per resident rank highest, the share of residents near a park lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Rochester’s overall grade.
Conserved land12% of the land · typical WI town 4% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.9 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (16 mi) · WI 0.4 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land353 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,327 acres) · WI 31 · U.S. 13AParks close to home88% of residents within a half mile of a park · WI 90% · U.S. 72%B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 94%
LessMore
Wisconsin towns of 2,500+ (362)Ahead of 92%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would still be 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 W.R. Wadewitz Nature Camp, with 4.9 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Honey Creek Wildlife Area - Cherry Lake Unit
Managed by Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
264 acres3.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Case Eagle Park
Park
227 acres2.2 mi of trail
Rochester Dam Portage
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Cherry Lake Sedge Meadow State Natural Area
Nature preserve
81 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 10 parks & preserves
W.R. Wadewitz Nature Camp176 acres · 4.9 mi of trail
DirectionsHoney Creek Wildlife Area - Cherry Lake Unit264 acres · 3.1 mi of trail · Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
DirectionsSaller Woods Park118 acres · 3.1 mi of trail
DirectionsCase Eagle Park227 acres · 2.2 mi of trail
DirectionsCherry Lake Sedge Meadow State Natural Area81 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
Rochester Commons Area6 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsHoney Creek Wildlife Area - Oak Knoll Unit504 acres · Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
DirectionsKate Shaffer Memorial Park4 acres · Town Of Rochester
DirectionsPioneer Park1 acres
DirectionsHoney Lake Community Park1 acres
Who protects it
1,286 conserved acres
12% of Rochester’s land. Who manages Rochester’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources830 ac
County314 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits87 ac
Private owners51 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)49 ac
Town or city6 ac
State Recreation Area · 779 acConservation Easement · 187 acLocal Recreation Area · 166 acLocal Park · 154 acPrivate Conservation · 51 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 136 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Honey Creek Wildlife Area State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 820 | Open |
| Wadewitz Nature Center Local Recreation Area | County | 166 | Open |
| Case Eagle Park Local Park | County | 148 | Open |
| Statewide Public Access - Se State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 11 | Open |
| Rochester Park Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Open |
| Pioneer Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
5 places to go in Rochester
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Rochester
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Rochester
Jean Jacobson Dog ParkIn Case Eagle Park
DirectionsPicnic areas in Rochester
1 picnic area without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Campgrounds in Rochester
W.R. Wadewitz Nature CampIn W.R. Wadewitz Nature Camp
DirectionsTrails & water
4 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
4.8 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.7 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
3.9 mi
off-road bike paths
0.2 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
2Basketball
2Baseball
1Football
1Soccer
1Beach volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →2 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
When to get out
September is the best month for walking in Rochester
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) | 9.4 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.6 | 15.3 | 15.0 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 29 | 33 | 44 | 57 | 69 | 78 | 83 | 81 | 74 | 61 | 46 | 34 |
| Rain (in) | 1.7 | 1.6 | 2.1 | 3.6 | 4.0 | 4.7 | 3.7 | 3.8 | 3.5 | 3.0 | 2.3 | 2.0 |
February is the driest month (1.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 4.7 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Rochester →
Next door
Rochester and its neighbors
Rochester has the most mapped trails of the 8 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Rochester16 miBurlington9.8 miDover9.3 miWaterford8.9 miNorway6.1 miTichigan4.2 miWaterford2.6 miSpring Prairie2.6 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rochester | 12% | 0.9 | 353 | 88% | A |
| Waterford | 3% | 1.0 | 19 | 99%+ | A− |
| Spring Prairie | 1% | 0.1 | 138 | 19% | C+ |
| Waterford | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Dover | 1% | 0.3 | 21 | 65% | B− |
| Burlington | 6% | 0.3 | 135 | 59% | B+ |
| Tichigan | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Norway | 2% | 0.2 | 8 | 46% | C |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Rochester
Where can I hike in Rochester?
The longest trail networks: W.R. Wadewitz Nature Camp, 4.9 miles; Honey Creek Wildlife Area - Cherry Lake Unit, 3.1 miles; Saller Woods Park, 3.1 miles; Case Eagle Park, 2.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Rochester is conserved land?
12% 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 Rochester’s trails?
W.R. Wadewitz Nature Camp and Honey Creek Wildlife Area - Cherry Lake Unit don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Rochester?
4.8 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.7 of painted or protected lanes, 3.9 of off-road paths and 0.2 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Rochester?
15,578 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Rochester or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,328 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Rochester have?
Ahead of 94% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #29 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 Rochester 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 →