Silver Lake County Park
Nature preserve
257 acres8.9 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Salem Lakes
Salem Lakes has 821 acres of parks, 57 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Silver Lake County Park (8.9 mi), Salem Community Park (1.2 mi). 7% of Salem Lakes’ land is conserved, about 1,353 acres. 18 miles of mapped trail cross Salem Lakes, 0.6 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 83% of U.S. towns · #93 of 362 in Wisconsin. What drives it
Conserved land
7%
1,353 acres · of 30.4 sq mi of land
Trails
18 mi
0.6 per sq mi of land
Park land
821 ac
57 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
83%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
2.6 mi
2.6 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
10
2 beaches · 8 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Salem Lakes?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Salem Lakes have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Salem Lakes is ahead of 83% of U.S. towns, #93 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 Salem Lakes’ overall grade.
Conserved land7% of the land · typical WI town 4% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.6 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (18 mi) · WI 0.4 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land57 acres of park per 1,000 residents (821 acres) · WI 31 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home83% 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 83%
LessMore
Wisconsin towns of 2,500+ (362)Ahead of 75%
Water is 8% of Salem Lakes’ area (3 of 33 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 6%.
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 Silver Lake County Park, with 8.9 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Kenosha County Fairgrounds
Park
77 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 12 parks & preserves
Silver Lake County Park257 acres · 8.9 mi of trail
DirectionsSalem Community Park102 acres · 1.2 mi of trail
DirectionsFox River Park128 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsSchmalfeldt Park3 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Kenosha County Fairgrounds77 acres
Silver Lake Bog State Natural Area40 acres
DirectionsOld Oaks Park28 acres
Hooker Lake Marsh Fishery Area15 acres · Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
DirectionsSalem Oaks Park5 acres
DirectionsFort Montgomery Park1 acres
DeWitt Park1 acres
Subdivision Park1 acres
Who protects it
1,353 conserved acres
7% of Salem Lakes’ land. Water is left out: Salem Lakes has 30.4 square miles of land and 2.8 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Salem Lakes’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County915 ac
State natural resources806 ac
Town or city178 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits19 ac
Bureau of Land Management3 ac
State Recreation Area · 754 acState Conservation Area · 574 acLocal Park · 564 acConservation Easement · 19 acLocal Conservation Area · 7 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 19 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Extensive Wl Habitat - Public Hunting Ground State Conservation Area | County | 519 | Restricted |
| Peat Lake State Habitat Area State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 479 | Open |
| Silver Lake County Park Local Park | County | 256 | Open |
| Camp Lake Fishery Area State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 225 | Open |
| Fox River County Park Local Park | County | 140 | Open |
| Salem Community Park Local Park | Town or city | 87 | Open |
| Statewide Wildlife Habitat State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 46 | Restricted |
| Silver Lake Marsh Fishery Area State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 35 | Restricted |
| Old Oaks Park Local Park | Town or city | 30 | Open |
| Neighborhood #4 Park Local Park | Town or city | 21 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
32 places to go in Salem Lakes
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Salem Lakes
2 beaches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Playgrounds in Salem Lakes
16 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Boat launches in Salem Lakes
8 boat launches without a name on the map.
Scenic views in Salem Lakes
2 scenic views without a name on the map.
Campgrounds in Salem Lakes
Trails & water
10 lakes & rivers
Biking & sports
2.6 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
2.6 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
12Baseball
4Basketball
4Softball
3Tennis
3Beach volleyball
2Pickleball
2Soccer
1Skate park
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Salem Lakes: July to 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) | 9.4 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.6 | 15.3 | 15.0 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.1 |
| High (°F) | 30 | 34 | 45 | 57 | 69 | 79 | 83 | 81 | 74 | 61 | 47 | 35 |
| Rain (in) | 1.8 | 1.8 | 2.2 | 3.7 | 4.1 | 4.4 | 3.5 | 3.6 | 3.4 | 3.1 | 2.4 | 1.9 |
February is the driest month (1.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 4.4 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Salem Lakes →
Next door
Salem Lakes and its neighbors
Salem Lakes 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salem Lakes | 7% | 0.6 | 57 | 83% | A− |
| Paddock Lake | 3% | under 0.1 | 9 | 99%+ | B− |
| Bristol | 3% | 0.4 | 48 | 42% | B− |
| Randall | 8% | 0.5 | 205 | 51% | A− |
| Brighton | 20% | 2.1 | 3,372 | 26% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Salem Lakes
Where can I hike in Salem Lakes?
The longest trail networks: Silver Lake County Park, 8.9 miles; Salem Community Park, 1.2 miles; Fox River Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Salem Lakes 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 Salem Lakes’ trails?
Silver Lake County Park and Salem Community Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Salem Lakes?
2.6 miles of bike routes are on the map: 2.6 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Salem Lakes?
26,704 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Salem Lakes or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 824 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Salem Lakes have?
Ahead of 83% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #93 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 Salem Lakes 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 →