Dr. J.S. Garman Nature Preserve
Managed by Jefferson County
42 acres1.4 mi of trail
Ridge LoopMounds LoopPine LoopRidge Loop / Pine Loop
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: self · CC BY-SA 2.5AOutdoors
Outdoors in Waterloo
98% of residents live within a half mile of a park in Waterloo
5.5 miles of mapped trail cross Waterloo, 1.4 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Dr. J.S. Garman Nature Preserve (1.4 mi), Firemen's Park (0.6 mi). 116 acres are parks and preserves, 32 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 90% of U.S. towns · #56 of 362 in Wisconsin. What drives it
Conserved land
5%
112 acres · of 3.8 sq mi of land
Trails
5.5 mi
1.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
116 ac
32 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
98%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
3.8 mi
1.4 mi lanes · 0.9 mi paths
What kind of outdoors town is Waterloo?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Waterloo have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Waterloo is ahead of 90% of U.S. towns, #56 of 362 in Wisconsin. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; trail miles rank highest, conserved land lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Waterloo’s overall grade.
Conserved land5% of the land · typical WI town 4% · U.S. 4%BTrails1.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (6 mi) · WI 0.4 · U.S. 0.4APark land32 acres of park per 1,000 residents (116 acres) · WI 31 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home98% of 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 85%
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 Dr. J.S. Garman Nature Preserve, with 1.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Firemen's Park
Park
43 acres0.6 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Who protects it
112 conserved acres
5% of Waterloo’s land. Who manages Waterloo’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city69 ac
County43 ac
Local Park · 64 acLocal Conservation Area · 48 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fireman'S Park Local Park | Town or city | 45 | Open |
| Dr. Js Garman Nature Preserve Local Conservation Area | County | 43 | Open |
| Youker Park Local Park | Town or city | 11 | Open |
| Morrison Field Local Park | Town or city | 8 | Open |
| Deyoung Farms Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 5 | Open |
Things to do
4 places to go in Waterloo
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Waterloo
4 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
5 named trails
Named trails
Open to bikes · 0.6 mi
Ridge Loop0.4 mi
Mounds Loop0.3 mi
Bridge Trail0.3 mi
Pine Loop0.3 mi
Ridge Loop / Pine Loop0.2 mi
Biking & sports
3.8 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.4 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
0.9 mi
off-road bike paths
1.5 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
4Tennis
2Tracks
1Soccer
1Football
1Baseball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
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 Waterloo
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 | 14.7 | 15.4 | 15.1 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 27 | 31 | 43 | 57 | 69 | 79 | 83 | 80 | 74 | 60 | 45 | 33 |
| Rain (in) | 1.4 | 1.3 | 2.1 | 3.7 | 4.2 | 5.1 | 4.1 | 4.0 | 3.3 | 2.8 | 2.2 | 1.6 |
February is the driest month (1.3 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 5.1 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Waterloo →
Next door
Waterloo and its neighbors
Waterloo has the second most mapped trails of the 3 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Questions about parks and trails in Waterloo
Where can I hike in Waterloo?
The longest trail networks: Dr. Garman Nature Preserve, 1.4 miles; Firemen's Park, 0.6 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Waterloo 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 Waterloo’s trails?
Dr. Garman Nature Preserve and Firemen's Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Waterloo?
3.8 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.4 of painted or protected lanes, 0.9 of off-road paths and 1.5 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Waterloo?
11,999 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Waterloo or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 116 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Waterloo have?
Ahead of 90% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #56 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 Waterloo 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 →