Ice Age Trail Junction Area
Managed by Dane County Parks
126 acres1.5 mi of trail
Ice Age Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
AOutdoors
Outdoors in Verona
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park in Verona
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park. 13 miles of mapped trail cross Verona, 1.6 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Ice Age Trail Junction Area (1.5 mi), Verona Nature Center Park (0.8 mi).
Ahead of 90% of U.S. towns · #50 of 362 in Wisconsin. What drives it
Conserved land
4%
223 acres · of 8.3 sq mi of land
Trails
13 mi
1.6 per sq mi of land
Park land
394 ac
26 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
29 mi
15 mi lanes · 13 mi paths
Highest peak
1,017 ft
Badger Mill Hill
Lakes & rivers
15
2 beaches · 1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Verona?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Verona have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Verona is ahead of 90% of U.S. towns, #50 of 362 in Wisconsin. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of residents near a park ranks highest, conserved land lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Verona’s overall grade.
Conserved land4% of the land · typical WI town 4% · U.S. 4%BTrails1.6 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (13 mi) · WI 0.4 · U.S. 0.4APark land26 acres of park per 1,000 residents (394 acres) · WI 31 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to homeVirtually all residents within a half mile of a park · WI 90% · U.S. 72%A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 90%
LessMore
Wisconsin towns of 2,500+ (362)Ahead of 86%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from A− 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 Ice Age Trail Junction Area, with 1.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Verona Nature Center Park
Park
14 acres0.8 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Badger Prairie County Park
Managed by Dane County
5 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
All 36 parks & preserves
Ice Age Trail Junction Area126 acres · 1.5 mi of trail · Dane County Parks
DirectionsVerona Nature Center Park14 acres · 0.8 mi of trail
DirectionsCommunity Park46 acres · 0.4 mi of trail
DirectionsBadger Prairie County Park5 acres · 0.3 mi of trail · Dane County
DirectionsFireman's Park40 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsWhalen Pond Outdoor Laboritory2 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
Central Park1 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsReddan Soccer Park52 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Madison Area Youth Soccer Association
DirectionsHarriet Park8 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsEpic Park6 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Westridge Park5 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Military Ridge Reserve28 acres
DirectionsVeteran's Park19 acres
DirectionsCathedral Point Park13 acres
DirectionsTollefson Park8 acres · City of Verona
DirectionsSugar River Wetlands State Natural Area6 acres
Meister Park5 acres
DirectionsCross Country Park5 acres
Community Field Park5 acres
DirectionsTower Park4 acres · City of Verona
Harmony Hills Park4 acres
DirectionsSilent Street Park4 acres
DirectionsPalmer Park4 acres
Neff Park3 acres
DirectionsBehnke Park3 acres
Prairie View Park2 acres
Scenic Ridge Park2 acres · Verona
Van De Gift Park2 acres
Prairie Moraine County Park1 acres · Dane County Parks
DirectionsMoraine Kettles Preserve1 acres · Ice Age Trail Alliance
Kay Park1 acres
DirectionsRaywood Park1 acres
Wild Willow Park1 acres
West Park1 acres
Thompson Park1 acres · City of Verona
Hometown Junction Park1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
223 conserved acres
4% of Verona’s land. Who manages Verona’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city112 ac
County107 ac
State natural resources34 ac
Private owners8 ac
Local Park · 227 acRecreation or Education Easement · 19 acState Conservation Area · 15 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Badger Prairie County Park Local Park | County | 67 | Open |
| Unknown Park Local Park | County | 40 | Open |
| Veterans Park Local Park | Town or city | 19 | Open |
| Fireman'S Park & Beach Local Park | Town or city | 19 | Open |
| Hometown Usa Community Park Local Park | Town or city | 15 | Open |
| Cathedral Point Park Local Park | Town or city | 9 | Open |
| Meister Park Local Park | Private owners | 8 | Open |
| Tollefson Park Local Park | Town or city | 8 | Open |
| Sugar River Wetlands State Natural Area State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 7 | Restricted |
| Statewide Natural Area State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 7 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
46 places to go in Verona
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Verona
Fireman's BeachIn Fireman's Park
DirectionsPlus 1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Verona
35 playgrounds are on OpenStreetMap in all; the list shows named ones from the first 30.
Dog parks in Verona
1 dog park without a name on the map.
Boat launches in Verona
1 boat launch without a name on the map.
Peaks in Verona
Badger Mill Hill1,017 ft elevation · In Palmer Park
DirectionsPicnic areas in Verona
Tribal Council Picnic
DirectionsPlus 3 picnic areas without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Community gardens in Verona
Epic Community Garden
DirectionsGood Shephard Food Pantry Garden
DirectionsTrails & water
2 named trails and 15 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 8.5 mi
Ice Age Trail2.0 mi
Verona Trail0.5 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
29 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
15 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
13 mi
off-road bike paths
0.5 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
26Soccer
20Tennis
12Basketball
10Pickleball
9Baseball
7Softball
5Tracks
2Football
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 Verona
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) | 27 | 32 | 44 | 57 | 69 | 79 | 82 | 80 | 73 | 60 | 45 | 32 |
| Rain (in) | 1.5 | 1.5 | 2.2 | 3.8 | 4.3 | 5.6 | 4.6 | 4.2 | 3.6 | 3.0 | 2.3 | 1.7 |
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 Verona →
Next door
Verona and its neighbors
Verona has the second most mapped trails of the 2 towns around it. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Verona | 4% | 1.6 | 26 | 99%+ | A |
| Madison | 12% | 1.8 | 24 | 99%+ | A+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Verona
Where can I hike in Verona?
The longest trail networks: Ice Age Trail Junction Area, 1.5 miles; Verona Nature Center Park, 0.8 miles; Community Park, 0.4 miles; Badger Prairie County Park, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Verona is conserved land?
4% 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 Verona’s trails?
Ice Age Trail Junction Area and Verona Nature Center Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Verona?
29 miles of bike routes are on the map: 15 of painted or protected lanes, 13 of off-road paths and 0.5 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Verona?
17,984 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Verona or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 394 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Verona have?
Ahead of 90% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #50 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 Verona 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 →