Bayfield County Forest
Managed by Bayfield County
7,435 acres6.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trailhead
Photo: I, the copyright holder of this work, hereby publish it under the following license: · CC BY-SA 3.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Russell
Russell has 9,248 acres of parks, 6,545 for every 1,000 residents
31% of Russell’s land is conserved, about 9,772 acres. The biggest trail networks: Bayfield County Forest (6.3 mi), Frog Bay Tribal National Park (1.8 mi). 78% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 93% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
31%
9,772 acres · of 49.8 sq mi of land
Trails
23 mi
0.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
9,248 ac
6,545 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
78%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.6 mi
0.6 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
1 beach · 3 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Russell?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Russell have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Russell is ahead of 93% of U.S. towns. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; park acres per resident rank highest, trail miles lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Russell’s overall grade.
Conserved land31% of the land · typical WI town 4% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (23 mi) · WI 0.4 · U.S. 0.4BPark land6,545 acres of park per 1,000 residents (9,248 acres) · WI 31 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home78% 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 93%
LessMore
Water is more than half of Russell’s area (50 of 100 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 15%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from A− 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 Bayfield County Forest, with 6.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Frog Bay Tribal National Park
Managed by Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa
160 acres1.8 mi of trail
Ravine Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trailheadWebsite ↗
Apostle Islands National Lakeshore
Managed by National Park Service
1,124 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dogs usually limited
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Gaylord Nelson Wilderness
Managed by National Park Service
536 acres
Dogs usually limited
No trailhead mapped yet
All 9 parks & preserves
Bayfield County Forest7,435 acres · 6.3 mi of trail · Bayfield County
DirectionsFrog Bay Tribal National Park160 acres · 1.8 mi of trail · Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa
DirectionsApostle Islands National Lakeshore1,124 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · National Park Service
DirectionsNorth Pikes Creek Wetlands Community Forest273 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Gaylord Nelson Wilderness536 acres · National Park Service
Red Cliff Fish Hatchery38 acres · Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa
Red Cliff Pow Wow Grounds20 acres · Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa
DirectionsLittle Sand Bay Recreation Area8 acres · Town of Russell
DirectionsMemorial Park3 acres · Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa
DirectionsWho protects it
9,772 conserved acres
31% of Russell’s land. Water is left out: Russell has 49.8 square miles of land and 50.2 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Russell’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County8,486 ac
National Park Service1,128 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits157 ac
State natural resources1 ac
Local Conservation Area · 8,486 acNational Lakeshore or Seashore · 1,128 acConservation Easement · 157 acState Recreation Area · 1 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 157 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bayfield County Forest Local Conservation Area | County | 8,486 | Open |
| Apostle Islands National Lakeshore National Lakeshore or Seashore | National Park Service | 1,128 | Open |
| Pageant Road State Public Access State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 1 | Open |
Things to do
6 places to go in Russell
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Russell
Buffalo Bay Beach
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Russell
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in Russell
3 boat launches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Campgrounds in Russell
Little Sand Bay CampgroundIn Little Sand Bay Recreation Area · Town of Russell
DirectionsTrails & water
2 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 0.6 mi
Ravine Trail1.3 mi
Clayton Creek Trail0.2 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.6 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.6 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
1Basketball
1Baseball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 3 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Hokenson Fishing DockBuilding · listed 1976
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Russell: May and September
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) | 8.9 | 10.2 | 11.8 | 13.5 | 15.0 | 15.9 | 15.5 | 14.2 | 12.5 | 10.8 | 9.3 | 8.5 |
| High (°F) | 22 | 27 | 37 | 48 | 60 | 69 | 76 | 75 | 66 | 53 | 39 | 27 |
| Rain (in) | 1.3 | 1.1 | 1.5 | 2.6 | 3.3 | 3.6 | 3.6 | 3.3 | 3.1 | 3.1 | 2.0 | 1.7 |
February is the driest month (1.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 76 °F). 3.6 inches fall in July, the wettest month. The climate in Russell →
Next door
Russell and its neighbors
Russell has the second most mapped trails of the 2 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Russell | 31% | 0.5 | 6,545 | 78% | A |
| Bayfield | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Russell
Where can I hike in Russell?
The longest trail networks: Bayfield County Forest, 6.3 miles; Frog Bay Tribal National Park, 1.8 miles; Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Russell is conserved land?
31% 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 Russell’s trails?
Bayfield County Forest and Frog Bay Tribal National Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Russell?
0.6 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.6 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Russell?
74,921 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Russell or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 9,248 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Russell have?
Ahead of 93% 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 Russell 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 →