Evansville State Wildlife Area
Nature preserve
378 acres1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
John C. and Mary Robinson Farmstead · Photo: TheCatalyst31 · CC0B−Outdoors
Outdoors in Union
Union has 419 acres of parks, 187 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Evansville State Wildlife Area (1 mi). 2.3 miles of mapped trail cross Union, 0.1 per square mile of land. 5% of Union’s land is conserved, about 1,080 acres.
Ahead of 52% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
5%
1,080 acres · of 32.6 sq mi of land
Trails
2.3 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
419 ac
187 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
32%
of residents within ½ mile
What kind of outdoors town is Union?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Union have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Union is ahead of 52% 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 Union’s overall grade.
Conserved land5% of the land · typical WI town 4% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (2 mi) · WI 0.4 · U.S. 0.4CPark land187 acres of park per 1,000 residents (419 acres) · WI 31 · U.S. 13AParks close to home32% 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 52%
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 Evansville State Wildlife Area, with 1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Brooklyn State Wildlife Area
Nature preserve
24 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
1,080 conserved acres
5% of Union’s land. Who manages Union’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service570 ac
State natural resources449 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)366 ac
Resource Management Area · 538 acState Recreation Area · 415 acAgricultural Easement · 355 acConservation Easement · 43 acState Conservation Area · 34 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 395 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Evansville Wildlife Area State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 441 | Open |
| Rock County Waterfowl Production Area Resource Management Area | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 268 | Restricted |
| Rock County Waterfowl Production Area Of Wi Resource Management Area | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 267 | Restricted |
| Stream Bank Protection Fee Program State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 4 | Open |
| Allen Creek Streambank Protection Area State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 4 | Open |
| Dane County Waterfowl Production Area Resource Management Area | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 2 | Restricted |
Things to do
1 places to go in Union
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Union
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
History along the way
History →2 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 Union
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) | 9.4 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.6 | 15.3 | 15.0 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 27 | 32 | 44 | 58 | 70 | 79 | 82 | 81 | 74 | 61 | 45 | 32 |
| Rain (in) | 1.5 | 1.6 | 2.1 | 3.7 | 4.3 | 5.6 | 4.3 | 4.2 | 3.7 | 2.9 | 2.4 | 1.8 |
January is the driest month (1.5 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 5.6 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Union →
Next door
Union 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Union | 5% | 0.1 | 187 | 32% | B− |
| Evansville | 3% | 0.1 | 15 | 98% | B |
| Magnolia | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Porter | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Rutland | 13% | 0.3 | 1,104 | 39% | A− |
| Brooklyn | 3% | under 0.1 | 306 | 12% | C+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Union
Where can I hike in Union?
The longest trail networks: Evansville State Wildlife Area, 1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Union is conserved land?
5% 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 Union’s trails?
Evansville State Wildlife Area and Brooklyn State Wildlife Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Union?
11,902 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Union or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 419 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Union have?
Ahead of 52% 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 Union 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 →