Fox Hill Nature Preserve
Nature preserve
219 acres5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto Fox Hill Nature Preserve - Nordic Trails Parking Lot
Photo: Mjrichter at English Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0B+Outdoors
Outdoors in West Bend
West Bend has 415 acres of parks, 94 for every 1,000 residents
17 miles of mapped trail cross West Bend, 1.2 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Fox Hill Nature Preserve (5 mi), Big Cedar Lake Trails (4.1 mi), Rudorf Trails (2.3 mi). 2% of West Bend’s land is conserved, about 146 acres.
Ahead of 74% of U.S. towns · #139 of 362 in Wisconsin. What drives it
Conserved land
2%
146 acres · of 14.2 sq mi of land
Trails
17 mi
1.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
415 ac
94 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
69%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
1,155 ft
Fox Hill
Lakes & rivers
7
1 beach · 2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is West Bend?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does West Bend have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, West Bend is ahead of 74% of U.S. towns, #139 of 362 in Wisconsin. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of West Bend’s overall grade.
Conserved land2% of the land · typical WI town 4% · U.S. 4%C+Trails1.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (17 mi) · WI 0.4 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land94 acres of park per 1,000 residents (415 acres) · WI 31 · U.S. 13AParks close to home69% of residents within a half mile of a park · WI 90% · U.S. 72%B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 74%
LessMore
Wisconsin towns of 2,500+ (362)Ahead of 62%
Water is 13% of West Bend’s area (2 of 16 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 1%.
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
The longest trail network is Fox Hill Nature Preserve, with 5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Big Cedar Lake Trails
Park
105 acres4.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto Water Spirit Preserve
Rolf's Park
Park
44 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 6 parks & preserves
Fox Hill Nature Preserve219 acres · 5 mi of trail
DirectionsBig Cedar Lake Trails105 acres · 4.1 mi of trail
DirectionsRudorf Trails63 acres · 2.3 mi of trail
DirectionsRolf's Park44 acres
Ackerman's Grove County Park14 acres
Cedar Lake County Wayside Park3 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
146 conserved acres
2% of West Bend’s land. Water is left out: West Bend has 14.2 square miles of land and 2.0 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages West Bend’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources162 ac
County47 ac
Private owners43 ac
State Recreation Area · 86 acState Conservation Area · 81 acPrivate Conservation · 43 acUnknown Easement · 19 acLocal Park · 18 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Statewide Habitat Areas State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 96 | Restricted |
| Statewide Habitat Areas - Se State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 55 | Open |
| Scattered Wildlife State Conservation Area | County | 28 | Restricted |
| Scattered Wildlife - Se State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 28 | Open |
| Ackerman'S Grove County Park Local Park | County | 15 | Open |
| Cedar Lake County Wayside Park Local Park | County | 4 | Open |
| Statewide Public Access - Se State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 2 | Open |
| Statewide Public Access State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 2 | Open |
Things to do
5 places to go in West Bend
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in West Bend
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in West Bend
2 boat launches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Peaks in West Bend
Fox Hill1,155 ft elevation · In Fox Hill Nature Preserve
DirectionsCampgrounds in West Bend
Camp Silver BrookGirl Scouts of Wisconsin Southeast
DirectionsTrails & water
1 named trail and 7 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 4.4 mi
Ice Age Trail2.0 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
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
1Tennis
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 West Bend
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 | 10.4 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.7 | 15.4 | 15.1 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 26 | 30 | 42 | 55 | 67 | 77 | 81 | 79 | 72 | 59 | 44 | 32 |
| Rain (in) | 1.5 | 1.4 | 1.9 | 3.6 | 3.8 | 4.6 | 3.7 | 3.8 | 3.2 | 2.8 | 2.1 | 1.7 |
February is the driest month (1.4 in) and July the warmest (highs of 81 °F). 4.6 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in West Bend →
Next door
West Bend and its neighbors
West Bend has the most mapped trails of the 3 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Questions about parks and trails in West Bend
Where can I hike in West Bend?
The longest trail networks: Fox Hill Nature Preserve, 5 miles; Big Cedar Lake Trails, 4.1 miles; Rudorf Trails, 2.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of West Bend is conserved land?
2% 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 West Bend’s trails?
Fox Hill Nature Preserve and Big Cedar Lake Trails don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near West Bend?
18,002 acres of parks and open public land lie inside West Bend or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 415 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does West Bend have?
Ahead of 74% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #139 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 West Bend 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 →