Glocke Lake State Natural Area
Nature preserve
162 acres0.7 mi of trail
Gluckie Lake Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Townsend
More than half of Townsend’s land is conserved: 56%
56% of Townsend’s land is conserved, about 13,962 acres. 102 acres are parks and preserves, 100 per 1,000 residents. 35 miles of mapped trail cross Townsend, 0.9 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 84% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
56%
13,962 acres · of 38.9 sq mi of land
Trails
35 mi
0.9 per sq mi of land
Park land
102 ac
100 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
23%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
24
2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Townsend?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Townsend have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Townsend is ahead of 84% of U.S. towns. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Townsend’s overall grade.
Conserved land56% of the land · typical WI town 4% · U.S. 4%A+Trails0.9 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (35 mi) · WI 0.4 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land100 acres of park per 1,000 residents (102 acres) · WI 31 · U.S. 13AParks close to home23% 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 84%
LessMore
Water is 8% of Townsend’s area (3 of 42 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 52%.
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 Glocke Lake State Natural Area, with 0.7 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
13,962 conserved acres
56% of Townsend’s land. Water is left out: Townsend has 38.9 square miles of land and 3.4 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Townsend’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
U.S. Forest Service13,867 ac
State natural resources117 ac
National Forest · 13,867 acState Park · 117 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nicolet National Forest National Forest | U.S. Forest Service | 13,867 | Open |
| Nicolet State Trail State Park | State natural resources | 117 | Open |
Things to do
2 places to go in Townsend
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Boat launches in Townsend
2 boat launches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
9 named trails and 24 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 7.8 miUnpaved · 13.1 mi
Nicolet State Trail5.5 mi
Wildwood Trail4.1 mi
Gluckie Lake Trail2.3 mi
Nicolet State Trail / Wildwood Trail1.1 mi
Forest Road 23541.0 mi
Carter Fire Tower Trail0.8 mi
National Forest Road 23570.7 mi
Downer Trail0.6 mi
Quarz Hill Trail0.4 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Archibald LakelakeBluegill LakelakeBowman LakelakeExplosion LakelakeGlocke LakelakeHorn LakelakeHorn Shaped LakelakeJones Spring ImpoundmentreservoirLauder LakelakeLittle Archibald LakelakeLittle Horn LakelakeLittle Pickerel LakelakeLittle Wapato LakelakeLower Wapato LakelakeMosquito LakelakePickerel LakereservoirPlantation LakelakeReservoir PondreservoirSmoke LakelakeSpring LakelakeSurprise LakelakeTownsend FlowagereservoirUpper Wapato LakelakeMcCaslin Brook
When to get out
May is the best month for walking in Townsend
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 | 14.9 | 15.6 | 15.3 | 14.1 | 12.5 | 10.8 | 9.4 | 8.7 |
| High (°F) | 23 | 28 | 39 | 53 | 66 | 75 | 79 | 76 | 69 | 55 | 40 | 28 |
| Rain (in) | 1.2 | 1.1 | 1.8 | 2.9 | 3.5 | 4.5 | 3.9 | 3.5 | 3.6 | 3.2 | 2.0 | 1.5 |
February is the driest month (1.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 79 °F). 4.5 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Townsend →
Next door
Townsend 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Townsend | 56% | 0.9 | 100 | 23% | A− |
| Doty | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Lakewood | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Wabeno | 68% | 1.1 | 325 | 70% | A+ |
| Wolf River | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Freedom | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Riverview | — 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 Townsend
Where can I hike in Townsend?
The longest trail networks: Glocke Lake State Natural Area, 0.7 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Townsend is conserved land?
56% 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 Townsend’s trails?
Glocke Lake State Natural Area doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Townsend?
229,958 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Townsend or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 14,034 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Townsend have?
Ahead of 84% 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 Townsend 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 →