Blackjack Springs Wilderness
Managed by United States Forest Service
4,407 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Royalbroil · CC BY-SA 3.0B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Washington
36% of Washington’s land is conserved: 9,507 acres
215 acres are parks and preserves, 134 per 1,000 residents. 16% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 12 miles of mapped trail cross Washington, 0.3 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 71% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
36%
9,507 acres · of 41.2 sq mi of land
Trails
12 mi
0.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
215 ac
134 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
16%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
21
2 beaches · 4 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Washington?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Washington have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Washington is ahead of 71% of U.S. towns. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Washington’s overall grade.
Conserved land36% of the land · typical WI town 4% · U.S. 4%A+Trails0.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (12 mi) · WI 0.4 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land134 acres of park per 1,000 residents (215 acres) · WI 31 · U.S. 13AParks close to home16% 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 71%
LessMore
Water is 13% of Washington’s area (6 of 47 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 32%.
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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Northland Pines School Forest
Nature preserve
120 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Vilas County Forest
Managed by Vilas County Forestry
28 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Eagle Lake Park
Park
16 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
9,507 conserved acres
36% of Washington’s land. Water is left out: Washington has 41.2 square miles of land and 6.3 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Washington’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
U.S. Forest Service9,256 ac
State natural resources278 ac
Private owners112 ac
National Forest · 9,256 acState Resource Management Area · 139 acState Recreation Area · 135 acPrivate Park · 112 acState Conservation Area · 4 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nicolet National Forest National Forest | U.S. Forest Service | 9,256 | Open |
| Scattered Forest Lands State Resource Management Area | State natural resources | 136 | Open |
| Scattered Forest Land - Nw State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 135 | Open |
| Lake forest Golf Club Private Park | Private owners | 112 | Open |
| State Owned Islands State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 4 | Open |
| State Owned Islands - Nw State Resource Management Area | State natural resources | 4 | Open |
Things to do
9 places to go in Washington
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Washington
2 beaches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Swimming spots in Washington
1 swimming spot without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in Washington
4 boat launches without a name on the map.
Picnic areas in Washington
1 picnic area without a name on the map.
Campgrounds in Washington
Anvil Lake Recreation AreaFee
DirectionsTrails & water
8 named trails and 21 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 2.5 miUnpaved · 10.9 mi
Anvil West Trail1.9 mi
Anvil Ninemile Trail1.7 mi
Anvil East Trail1.6 mi
Anvil Lake Loop Trail1.5 mi
Anvil Devil's Run Trail1.4 mi
Anvil Military Rd Trail1.1 mi
Anvil Snowshoe Trail0.5 mi
Anvil Trail0.5 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
72 ReservoirreservoirAnvil LakelakeBass LakelakeBeatrice LakepondCanary LakepondCarpenter LakelakeCranberry LakelakeDeerskin LakelakeFinger LakelakeHarmony LakelakeLittle Bass LakelakeLynx LakelakeRade LakelakeScattering Rice LakelakeSpirit LakelakeTambling LakelakeTinsel LakelakeUpper Ninemile LakeVoyageur LakelakeDeerskin RiverEagle River
Biking & sports
0.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Courts & fields
2Tennis
1Beach volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →5 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
When to get out
The best walking months in Washington: May and August
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) | 9.0 | 10.3 | 11.8 | 13.5 | 14.9 | 15.7 | 15.4 | 14.1 | 12.5 | 10.8 | 9.4 | 8.7 |
| High (°F) | 21 | 27 | 38 | 51 | 65 | 74 | 77 | 75 | 67 | 53 | 38 | 26 |
| Rain (in) | 1.3 | 1.1 | 1.7 | 2.9 | 3.6 | 4.1 | 4.1 | 3.4 | 3.7 | 3.6 | 2.0 | 1.6 |
February is the driest month (1.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 77 °F). 4.1 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Washington →
Next door
Washington 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington | 36% | 0.3 | 134 | 16% | B+ |
| Lincoln | 3% | 0.2 | 325 | 29% | B− |
| Three Lakes | 26% | 0.1 | 1,405 | 26% | B+ |
| Phelps | 63% | 0.2 | 34 | 24% | B+ |
| Hiles | — 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 Washington
How much of Washington is conserved land?
36% 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 Washington’s trails?
Blackjack Springs Wilderness and Northland Pines School Forest don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Washington?
173,618 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Washington or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 5,147 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Washington have?
Ahead of 71% 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 Washington 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 →