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SpartaBigBikePhoto: Wineinger at English Wikipedia · Public domain
BOutdoors
Outdoors in Sparta

Sparta has 362 acres of parks, 36 for every 1,000 residents

94% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 0.8 miles of mapped trail cross Sparta, 0.1 per square mile of land. 3% of Sparta’s land is conserved, about 161 acres.

Ahead of 63% of U.S. towns · #216 of 362 in Wisconsin. What drives it

Conserved land
3%
161 acres · of 8.0 sq mi of land
Trails
0.8 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
362 ac
36 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
94%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
2.0 mi
2.0 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
2

What kind of outdoors town is Sparta?

Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.

Outdoors grade

How much outdoors does Sparta have?

On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Sparta is ahead of 63% of U.S. towns, #216 of 362 in Wisconsin. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; trail miles pull it down.

B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Sparta’s overall grade.
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 63%
LessMore
Wisconsin towns of 2,500+ (362)Ahead of 40%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B− 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.

1234
Easements protect land from building but are usually private.© OpenStreetMap contributors · USGS PAD-US
Places to walk

Pick a walk

Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.

Memorial Park

Park
57 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot

Amundson Park

Park
27 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet

Evans-Bosshard Park

Park
10 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot

Fishermans Park

Park
3 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 9 parks & preserves
Memorial Park57 acres
Directions
Amundson Park27 acres
Evans-Bosshard Park10 acres
Directions
Fishermans Park3 acres
Blyton Park3 acres
Westside Park2 acres
Directions
Ben Bikin' Park2 acres
Tom Gomez Park1 acres
Howard Huff Park1 acres
Who protects it

161 conserved acres

3% of Sparta’s land. Who manages Sparta’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.

Town or city128 ac
State natural resources33 ac
Local Park · 128 acState Park · 33 ac
The biggest protected parcels
Parcel (PAD-US)Managed byAcresPublic access
Memorial Park
Local Park
Town or city68Open
La Crosse River State Trail
State Park
State natural resources33Open
Amundson Park
Local Park
Town or city28Open
Evans-Bosshard Park
Local Park
Town or city14Open
Ben Bikin’ Park
Local Park
Town or city5Open
Fishermans Park
Local Park
Town or city4Open
Westside Park
Local Park
Town or city3Open
Blyton Veteran'S Park
Local Park
Town or city2Open
Tom Gomez Park
Local Park
Town or city1Open
Howard Huff Park
Local Park
Town or city1Open
Things to do

8 places to go in Sparta

Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.

Playgrounds in Sparta

8 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.

Trails & water

1 named trail and 2 lakes & rivers

Named trails
Canadian Pacific Railway0.6 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports

2.0 miles of bike routes

Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.

2.0 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
13Tennis
8Baseball
4Football
2Soccer
2Pickleball
1Skate park

Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.

History along the way

6 places on the National Register

The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 2 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.

History →
Sparta Free LibraryBuilding · listed 1981
About it
Monroe County CourthouseBuilding · listed 1982
About it
Sparta Masonic TempleBuilding · listed 1987
About it
Water Street Commercial Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1992
About it
William G. and Anne Williams HouseBuilding · listed 2005
About it
Sparta High SchoolBuilding · listed 2021
About it
When to get out

The walking year in Sparta

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.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)9.210.411.813.414.715.515.214.012.410.99.68.9
High (°F)253043576978828072594330
Rain (in)1.21.11.83.64.45.14.14.33.72.71.81.4

February is the driest month (1.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 5.1 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Sparta →

Next door

Sparta and its neighbors

Sparta has the second most mapped trails of the 2 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.

TownConserved
of land
Trail mi
per sq mi
Park acres
per 1,000
Near a park
½ mile
Outdoors
Sparta3%0.13694%B
Angelo2%1.117536%B+

The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.

Questions about parks and trails in Sparta

How much of Sparta is conserved land?

3% 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 Sparta’s trails?

Memorial Park and Amundson Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.

Where can I bike in Sparta?

2.0 miles of bike routes are on the map: 2.0 of off-road paths.

Is there public land near Sparta?

5,231 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Sparta or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 362 of them inside the city line.

How much outdoors does Sparta have?

Ahead of 63% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #216 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 Sparta neighbors.

Town Square →
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 →