Paradise Valley Wildlife Area
Managed by Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
316 acres1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Photo: I, the copyright holder of this work, hereby publish it under the following license: · CC BY-SA 3.0B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Sullivan
Sullivan has 2,347 acres of parks, 1,156 for every 1,000 residents
14% of Sullivan’s land is conserved, about 3,007 acres. The biggest trail networks: Paradise Valley Wildlife Area (1 mi). 42% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 69% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
14%
3,007 acres · of 34.9 sq mi of land
Trails
4.3 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
2,347 ac
1,156 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
42%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
10 mi
5.0 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
5
2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Sullivan?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Sullivan have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Sullivan is ahead of 69% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Sullivan’s overall grade.
Conserved land14% of the land · typical WI town 4% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (4 mi) · WI 0.4 · U.S. 0.4CPark land1,156 acres of park per 1,000 residents (2,347 acres) · WI 31 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home42% 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 69%
LessMore
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.
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 Paradise Valley Wildlife Area, with 1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Bark River Game Preserve
Nature preserve
1,034 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Rome Pond Park
Managed by Jefferson County
7 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
3,007 conserved acres
14% of Sullivan’s land. Who manages Sullivan’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources2,823 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)481 ac
County193 ac
State Recreation Area · 2,769 acConservation Easement · 453 acState Conservation Area · 193 acState Park · 54 acAgricultural Easement · 28 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 171 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rome Pond Wildlife Area State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 2,273 | Open |
| Paradise Valley Wildlife Area State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 316 | Restricted |
| Extensive Wl Habitat - Public Hunting Ground State Conservation Area | County | 193 | Restricted |
| Extensive Wl Habitat - Sd State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 181 | Open |
| Glacial Drumlin State Trail State Park | State natural resources | 54 | Open |
Things to do
2 places to go in Sullivan
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Boat launches in Sullivan
2 boat launches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
5 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
10 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
5.0 mi
off-road bike paths
5.3 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
1Baseball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
September is the best month for walking in Sullivan
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) | 28 | 32 | 44 | 57 | 69 | 79 | 82 | 81 | 73 | 61 | 46 | 33 |
| Rain (in) | 1.6 | 1.5 | 2.0 | 3.6 | 4.1 | 4.9 | 4.0 | 3.9 | 3.4 | 2.8 | 2.2 | 1.8 |
February is the driest month (1.5 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 4.9 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Sullivan →
Next door
Sullivan and its neighbors
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sullivan | 14% | 0.1 | 1,156 | 42% | B+ |
| Ottawa | 9% | 1.1 | 235 | 27% | A− |
| Jefferson | 13% | 0.2 | 866 | 30% | B+ |
| Palmyra | 5% | 1.3 | 111 | 13% | B+ |
| Concord | 4% | under 0.1 | 6 | 7% | C− |
| Hebron | 12% | under 0.1 | 804 | 11% | B− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Sullivan
Where can I hike in Sullivan?
The longest trail networks: Paradise Valley Wildlife Area, 1 miles; Bark River Game Preserve, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Sullivan is conserved land?
14% 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 Sullivan’s trails?
Paradise Valley Wildlife Area and Bark River Game Preserve don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Sullivan?
10 miles of bike routes are on the map: 5.0 of off-road paths and 5.3 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Sullivan?
34,365 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Sullivan or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 2,347 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Sullivan have?
Ahead of 69% 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 Sullivan 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 →