McCarthy Youth & Conservation County Park
Managed by Dane County Parks
286 acres6.7 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
B−Outdoors
Outdoors in Sun Prairie
Sun Prairie has 296 acres of parks, 148 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: McCarthy Youth & Conservation County Park (6.7 mi). 28% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 1% of Sun Prairie’s land is conserved, about 227 acres.
Ahead of 47% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
1%
227 acres · of 29.6 sq mi of land
Trails
8.2 mi
0.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
296 ac
148 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
28%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
9.0 mi
0.8 mi lanes · 0.4 mi paths
What kind of outdoors town is Sun Prairie?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Sun Prairie have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Sun Prairie is ahead of 47% 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 Sun Prairie’s overall grade.
Conserved land1% of the land · typical WI town 4% · U.S. 4%CTrails0.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (8 mi) · WI 0.4 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land148 acres of park per 1,000 residents (296 acres) · WI 31 · U.S. 13AParks close to home28% 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 47%
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 McCarthy Youth & Conservation County Park, with 6.7 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Patrick Marsh Wildlife Area
Nature preserve
81 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
227 conserved acres
1% of Sun Prairie’s land. Who manages Sun Prairie’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
USDA easements (NRCS)121 ac
County105 ac
Conservation Easement · 121 acLocal Recreation Area · 105 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 121 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| McCarthy Park - Bradley Local Recreation Area | County | 40 | Open |
| McCarthy Park - Klein Local Recreation Area | County | 40 | Open |
| McCarthy Park - Weisensel Local Recreation Area | County | 26 | Open |
Biking & sports
9.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.8 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
0.4 mi
off-road bike paths
7.8 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
When to get out
September is the best month for walking in Sun Prairie
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 | 15.4 | 15.1 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 27 | 31 | 44 | 57 | 69 | 79 | 82 | 80 | 73 | 60 | 45 | 32 |
| Rain (in) | 1.4 | 1.4 | 2.2 | 3.7 | 4.2 | 5.4 | 4.3 | 4.0 | 3.6 | 2.9 | 2.2 | 1.6 |
February is the driest month (1.4 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 5.4 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Sun Prairie →
Next door
Sun Prairie 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun Prairie | 1% | 0.3 | 148 | 28% | B− |
| Cottage Grove | 3% | 0.1 | 22 | 99%+ | B+ |
| Medina | 3% | 0.6 | 108 | 23% | B |
| Cottage Grove | 3% | 0.1 | 20 | 52% | C+ |
| Bristol | 2% | 0.1 | 58 | 50% | C+ |
| Burke | 13% | 0.8 | 409 | 92% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Sun Prairie
Where can I hike in Sun Prairie?
The longest trail networks: McCarthy Youth & Conservation County Park, 6.7 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Sun Prairie is conserved land?
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 Sun Prairie’s trails?
McCarthy Youth & Conservation County Park and Patrick Marsh Wildlife Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Sun Prairie?
9.0 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.8 of painted or protected lanes, 0.4 of off-road paths and 7.8 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Sun Prairie?
18,524 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Sun Prairie or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 296 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Sun Prairie have?
Ahead of 47% 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 Sun Prairie 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 →