Glen Hills County Park
Managed by St. Croix County
655 acres4.5 mi of trail
Lakeside TrailLakeside Trail Shortcut
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
B−Outdoors
Outdoors in Springfield
Springfield has 661 acres of parks, 605 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Glen Hills County Park (4.5 mi). 7% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 6.3 miles of mapped trail cross Springfield, 0.2 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 48% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
3%
692 acres · of 34.1 sq mi of land
Trails
6.3 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
661 ac
605 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
7%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
1
1 beach · 1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Springfield?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Springfield have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Springfield is ahead of 48% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Springfield’s overall grade.
Conserved land3% of the land · typical WI town 4% · U.S. 4%B−Trails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (6 mi) · WI 0.4 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land605 acres of park per 1,000 residents (661 acres) · WI 31 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home7% of residents within a half mile of a park · WI 90% · U.S. 72%D
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 48%
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 Glen Hills County Park, with 4.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
692 conserved acres
3% of Springfield’s land. Who manages Springfield’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources652 ac
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service40 ac
State Conservation Area · 652 acConservation Easement · 40 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 40 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Glen Hills Watershed State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 652 | Closed |
Things to do
8 places to go in Springfield
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Springfield
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Springfield
Peninsula PlaygroundIn Glen Hills County Park
DirectionsPicnic Point PlaygroundIn Glen Hills County Park
DirectionsBoat launches in Springfield
1 boat launch without a name on the map.
Campgrounds in Springfield
Glen Hills Park - Picnic Area CampgroundIn Glen Hills County Park
DirectionsGlen Hills Park CampgroundFee · In Glen Hills County Park
DirectionsPrairieview CampgroundIn Glen Hills County Park
DirectionsPlus 1 campground without a name on the map.
Trails & water
2 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 4.4 mi
Lakeside Trail4.2 mi
Lakeside Trail Shortcut0.2 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
When to get out
The walking year in Springfield
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) | 9.1 | 10.3 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.8 | 15.6 | 15.3 | 14.1 | 12.5 | 10.9 | 9.5 | 8.8 |
| High (°F) | 22 | 27 | 40 | 55 | 67 | 77 | 81 | 78 | 70 | 57 | 40 | 27 |
| Rain (in) | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.9 | 3.1 | 4.2 | 4.9 | 4.0 | 4.4 | 3.6 | 2.9 | 1.8 | 1.4 |
January is the driest month (1.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 81 °F). 4.9 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Springfield →
Next door
Springfield and its neighbors
Springfield has the second most mapped trails of the 5 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Springfield | 3% | 0.2 | 605 | 7% | B− |
| Wilson | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Glenwood | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Stanton | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Cady | — 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 Springfield
Where can I hike in Springfield?
The longest trail networks: Glen Hills County Park, 4.5 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Springfield 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 Springfield’s trails?
Glen Hills County Park doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Springfield?
3,362 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Springfield or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 661 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Springfield have?
Ahead of 48% 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 Springfield 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 →