Apostle Islands National Lakeshore
Managed by National Park Service
242 acres1.3 mi of trail
Dogs usually limited
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
B−Outdoors
Outdoors in Sanborn
Sanborn has 291 acres of parks, 254 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Apostle Islands National Lakeshore (1.3 mi). 45% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 35 miles of mapped trail cross Sanborn, 0.2 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 47% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
under 1%
365 acres · of 157.0 sq mi of land
Trails
35 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
291 ac
254 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
45%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
11
1 beach · 3 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Sanborn?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Sanborn have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Sanborn is ahead of 47% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
B−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Sanborn’s overall grade.
Conserved landunder 1% of the land · typical WI town 4% · U.S. 4%C−Trails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (35 mi) · WI 0.4 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land254 acres of park per 1,000 residents (291 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 47%
LessMore
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B. 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 Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, with 1.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Iron County Forest
Managed by Iron County
18 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Bad River Powwow Grounds
Park
15 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 5 parks & preserves
Apostle Islands National Lakeshore242 acres · 1.3 mi of trail · National Park Service
Iron County Forest18 acres · Iron County
Bad River Powwow Grounds15 acres
Second Landing7 acres · Ashland County
DirectionsCopper Falls State Park3 acres · Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
Who protects it
365 conserved acres
under 1% of Sanborn’s land. Who manages Sanborn’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
National Park Service215 ac
State natural resources132 ac
County18 ac
National Lakeshore or Seashore · 215 acUnknown · 127 acLocal Conservation Area · 18 acState Park · 4 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apostle Islands National Lakeshore National Lakeshore or Seashore | National Park Service | 215 | Open |
| Gift Lands Unknown | State natural resources | 127 | Open |
| Iron County Forest Local Conservation Area | County | 18 | Open |
| Copper Falls State Park State Park | State natural resources | 4 | Open |
Things to do
6 places to go in Sanborn
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Sanborn
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Sanborn
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Sanborn
3 boat launches without a name on the map.
Trails & water
11 lakes & rivers
When to get out
The best walking months in Sanborn: 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) | 9.0 | 10.2 | 11.8 | 13.5 | 15.0 | 15.8 | 15.5 | 14.2 | 12.5 | 10.8 | 9.3 | 8.6 |
| High (°F) | 23 | 28 | 38 | 51 | 65 | 73 | 79 | 77 | 69 | 55 | 40 | 28 |
| Rain (in) | 1.4 | 1.1 | 1.6 | 2.7 | 3.4 | 3.7 | 4.0 | 3.5 | 3.4 | 3.3 | 2.2 | 1.7 |
February is the driest month (1.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 79 °F). 4.0 inches fall in July, the wettest month. The climate in Sanborn →
Next door
Sanborn and its neighbors
Sanborn has the second most mapped trails of the 8 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Morse64 miSanborn35 miGurney14 miGingles6.0 miAshland5.6 miAshland5.3 miWhite River3.9 miBayfront0.0 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sanborn | under 1% | 0.2 | 254 | 45% | B− |
| Bayfront | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Gingles | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| White River | under 1% | 0.1 | 52 | 15% | C |
| Ashland | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Morse | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Gurney | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Ashland | 4% | 0.4 | 48 | 89% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Sanborn
Where can I hike in Sanborn?
The longest trail networks: Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, 1.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Sanborn is conserved land?
under 1% 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 Sanborn’s trails?
Apostle Islands National Lakeshore and Iron County Forest don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Sanborn?
115,317 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Sanborn or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 425 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Sanborn have?
Ahead of 47% 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 Sanborn 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 →