Grant Park
Park
371 acres3.5 mi of trail
Seven Bridges Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
South Milwaukee Post Office · Photo: Freekee · Public domainA+Outdoors
Outdoors in South Milwaukee
23% of South Milwaukee’s land is conserved, and 99% of residents live within a half mile of a park
23% of South Milwaukee’s land is conserved, about 701 acres. 6.3 miles of mapped trail cross South Milwaukee, 1.3 per square mile of land. 736 acres are parks and preserves, 36 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 97% of U.S. towns · #11 of 362 in Wisconsin. What drives it
Conserved land
23%
701 acres · of 4.8 sq mi of land
Trails
6.3 mi
1.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
736 ac
36 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
3.9 mi
0.9 mi lanes · 2.9 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
2
2 beaches
What kind of outdoors town is South Milwaukee?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does South Milwaukee have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, South Milwaukee is ahead of 97% of U.S. towns, #11 of 362 in Wisconsin. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; conserved land ranks highest, park acres per resident lowest.
A+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of South Milwaukee’s overall grade.
Conserved land23% of the land · typical WI town 4% · U.S. 4%ATrails1.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (6 mi) · WI 0.4 · U.S. 0.4APark land36 acres of park per 1,000 residents (736 acres) · WI 31 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home99% 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 97%
LessMore
Wisconsin towns of 2,500+ (362)Ahead of 97%
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 Grant Park, with 3.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Oak Creek Parkway
Managed by Milwaukee County Parks
254 acres1.7 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Rawson Park
Nature preserve
22 acres0.7 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Little League Park
Park
8 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 5 parks & preserves
Grant Park371 acres · 3.5 mi of trail
DirectionsOak Creek Parkway254 acres · 1.7 mi of trail · Milwaukee County Parks
DirectionsRawson Park22 acres · 0.7 mi of trail
DirectionsLittle League Park8 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
Bucyrus Commons1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
701 conserved acres
23% of South Milwaukee’s land. Who manages South Milwaukee’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County279 ac
Town or city244 ac
Not recorded639 ac
Local Park · 1,163 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grant Park Local Park | Town or city | 610 | Open |
| Oak Creek Parkway Local Park | Not recorded | 492 | Open |
| Rawson Park Local Park | Not recorded | 53 | Open |
| Little League Park Local Park | Town or city | 8 | Open |
Things to do
25 places to go in South Milwaukee
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in South Milwaukee
Grant Park BeachIn Grant Park
DirectionsPlus 1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Public pools in South Milwaukee
Grobschmidt PoolIn Oak Creek Parkway
DirectionsPlaygrounds in South Milwaukee
16 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Picnic areas in South Milwaukee
Picnic Area 5In Grant Park
DirectionsPicnic Area 6In Grant Park
DirectionsPicnic Area 8In Grant Park
DirectionsPicnic Area 9In Grant Park
DirectionsPicnic Areas 3 & 4 PavilionIn Grant Park
DirectionsCommunity gardens in South Milwaukee
Growing South Milwaukee
DirectionsTrails & water
1 named trail and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 2.1 mi
Seven Bridges Trail2.0 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
3.9 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.9 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
2.9 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
15Tennis
11Basketball
11Baseball
10Soccer
2Football
2Pickleball
1Tracks
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →4 places on the National Register
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.
When to get out
The best walking months in South Milwaukee: July 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) | 9.3 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.6 | 15.3 | 15.0 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.7 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 30 | 33 | 43 | 54 | 65 | 75 | 81 | 79 | 72 | 60 | 47 | 35 |
| Rain (in) | 1.7 | 1.6 | 2.1 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 4.2 | 3.3 | 3.6 | 3.3 | 2.9 | 2.2 | 1.9 |
February is the driest month (1.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 81 °F). 4.2 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in South Milwaukee →
Next door
South Milwaukee and its neighbors
South Milwaukee has the second most mapped trails of the 3 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Questions about parks and trails in South Milwaukee
Where can I hike in South Milwaukee?
The longest trail networks: Grant Park, 3.5 miles; Oak Creek Parkway, 1.7 miles; Rawson Park, 0.7 miles; Little League Park, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of South Milwaukee is conserved land?
23% 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 South Milwaukee’s trails?
Grant Park and Oak Creek Parkway don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in South Milwaukee?
3.9 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.9 of painted or protected lanes and 2.9 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near South Milwaukee?
14,139 acres of parks and open public land lie inside South Milwaukee or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 736 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does South Milwaukee have?
Ahead of 97% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #11 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 South Milwaukee 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 →