University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee at Waukesha Field Station
Nature preserve
10 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Awkwafaba · CC BY-SA 3.0COutdoors
Outdoors in Summit
Summit has 72 acres of parks, 14 for every 1,000 residents
37% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 5.0 miles of mapped trail cross Summit, 0.2 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 30% of U.S. towns · #331 of 362 in Wisconsin. What drives it
Conserved land
under 1%
48 acres · of 20.7 sq mi of land
Trails
5.0 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
72 ac
14 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
37%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
7.2 mi
0.3 mi lanes · 6.9 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
17
3 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Summit?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Summit have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Summit is ahead of 30% of U.S. towns, #331 of 362 in Wisconsin. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
C
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Summit’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 (5 mi) · WI 0.4 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land14 acres of park per 1,000 residents (72 acres) · WI 31 · U.S. 13BParks close to home37% 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 30%
LessMore
Wisconsin towns of 2,500+ (362)Ahead of 9%
Water is 13% of Summit’s area (3 of 24 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read under 1%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C+. 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 University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee at Waukesha Field Station, with 0.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Perkins Wildlife Area
Nature preserve
215 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 7 parks & preserves
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee at Waukesha Field Station10 acres · 0.4 mi of trail
DirectionsPerkins Wildlife Area215 acres
Genesee Lake Road Park36 acres
DirectionsPublic Boat Launch1 acres
DirectionsLower Namahbin Lake Public Boat Launch1 acres
DirectionsGolden Lake Public Access1 acres
DirectionsWaukesha County Trail Parking Lot1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
48 conserved acres
under 1% of Summit’s land. Water is left out: Summit has 20.7 square miles of land and 3.0 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Summit’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources92 ac
State Recreation Area · 69 acState Conservation Area · 23 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nemahbin Lake State Public Access State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 25 | Open |
| Statewide Public Access State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 23 | Open |
| Statewide Habitat Areas State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 23 | Restricted |
| Statewide Public Access - Se State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 21 | Open |
Things to do
8 places to go in Summit
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Summit
5 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Summit
3 boat launches without a name on the map.
Trails & water
17 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Bell PondpondBowron LakeCrooked LakelakeDuck LakelakeGolden LakelakeHenrietta LakelakeLower Genesee LakelakeLower Nashotah LakelakeLower Nemahbin LakereservoirMiddle Genesee LakelakeSawyer MillpondSilver LakelakeUpper Genesee LakelakeUpper Nashotah LakelakeUpper Nemahbin LakelakeWaterville LakeBark River
Biking & sports
7.2 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.3 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
6.9 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
3Baseball
2Basketball
1Pickleball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →3 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
When to get out
September is the best month for walking in Summit
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 | 15.1 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 28 | 32 | 44 | 57 | 69 | 78 | 82 | 80 | 73 | 60 | 45 | 33 |
| Rain (in) | 1.6 | 1.5 | 2.0 | 3.7 | 4.1 | 4.8 | 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). 4.8 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Summit →
Next door
Summit 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Summit | under 1% | 0.2 | 14 | 37% | C |
| Dousman | 3% | 0.3 | 10 | 85% | B− |
| Oconomowoc | 1% | 0.6 | 16 | 97% | B+ |
| Delafield | 5% | 1.3 | 66 | 80% | A |
| Ottawa | 9% | 1.1 | 235 | 27% | A− |
| Concord | 4% | under 0.1 | 6 | 7% | C− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Summit
Where can I hike in Summit?
The longest trail networks: University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee at Waukesha Field Station, 0.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Summit 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 Summit’s trails?
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee at Waukesha Field Station and Perkins Wildlife Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Summit?
7.2 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.3 of painted or protected lanes and 6.9 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Summit?
22,840 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Summit or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 72 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Summit have?
Ahead of 30% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #331 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 Summit 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 →