Photo: I, the copyright holder of this work, hereby publish it under the following license: · CC BY-SA 3.098% of residents live within a half mile of a park in Watertown
The biggest trail networks: Brandt / Quirk Park (2.9 mi), Riverside Park (0.7 mi). 483 acres are parks and preserves, 21 per 1,000 residents. 5.8 miles of mapped trail cross Watertown, 0.5 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 78% of U.S. towns · #117 of 362 in Wisconsin. What drives it
What kind of outdoors town is Watertown?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
How much outdoors does Watertown have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Watertown is ahead of 78% of U.S. towns, #117 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.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Pick a walk
The longest trail network is Brandt / Quirk Park, with 2.9 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Veterans Memorial Park
All 18 parks & preserves
357 conserved acres
5% of Watertown’s land. Who manages Watertown’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brandt Quirk Park Local Park | Town or city | 167 | Open |
| Pet Exercise Park Local Park | Town or city | 53 | Open |
| Riverside Park Local Park | Town or city | 40 | Open |
| Grinwald Park Local Park | Town or city | 18 | Open |
| Dan Brandenstein Park Local Park | Town or city | 12 | Open |
| Kolata Park Local Park | Town or city | 10 | Open |
| Washington Park Local Park | Town or city | 9 | Open |
| Clark Park Local Park | Town or city | 7 | Open |
| Deer Trail Park Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| Lincoln Park Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
16 places to go in Watertown
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
15 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
1 disc golf course without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
3 lakes & rivers
7.7 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
15 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 5 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
3 more on the History page.
September is the best month for walking in Watertown
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 | 78 | 82 | 80 | 73 | 60 | 45 | 33 |
| Rain (in) | 1.4 | 1.4 | 2.0 | 3.7 | 4.1 | 5.0 | 4.0 | 4.1 | 3.3 | 2.8 | 2.2 | 1.7 |
February is the driest month (1.4 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 5.0 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Watertown →
Watertown and its neighbors
Watertown has the 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Watertown | 5% | 0.5 | 21 | 98% | A− |
| Emmet | under 1% | 0.1 | 23 | 5% | C− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Watertown
Where can I hike in Watertown?
The longest trail networks: Brandt / Quirk Park, 2.9 miles; Riverside Park, 0.7 miles; Veterans Memorial Park, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Watertown 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 Watertown’s trails?
Brandt / Quirk Park and Riverside Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Watertown?
7.7 miles of bike routes are on the map: 2.3 of painted or protected lanes and 5.4 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Watertown?
7,597 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Watertown or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 483 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Watertown have?
Ahead of 78% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #117 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 Watertown neighbors.
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 →