Elk Creek Fishery Area
Nature preserve
111 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
COutdoors
Outdoors in Wheaton
Wheaton has 203 acres of parks, 73 for every 1,000 residents
0.1 miles of mapped trail cross Wheaton. 28% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 29% of U.S. towns · #334 of 362 in Wisconsin. What drives it
Conserved land
1%
239 acres · of 53.9 sq mi of land
Trails
0.1 mi
0.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
203 ac
73 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
28%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.3 mi
0.3 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Wheaton have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Wheaton is ahead of 29% of U.S. towns, #334 of 362 in Wisconsin. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
C
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Wheaton’s overall grade.
Conserved land1% of the land · typical WI town 4% · U.S. 4%CTrails0.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (0 mi) · WI 0.4 · U.S. 0.4DPark land73 acres of park per 1,000 residents (203 acres) · WI 31 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home28% 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 29%
LessMore
Wisconsin towns of 2,500+ (362)Ahead of 8%
NoteFew parks or trails are mapped in Wheaton. OpenStreetMap is mapped by volunteers and coverage varies from town to town, so a town with unmapped parks scores low on them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C+. 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.
Who protects it
239 conserved acres
1% of Wheaton’s land. Who manages Wheaton’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources225 ac
Private owners73 ac
Bureau of Land Management15 ac
State Recreation Area · 213 acRecreation or Education Easement · 74 acNational Public Lands · 15 acConservation Easement · 12 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 13 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elk Creek Fishery Area State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 209 | Open |
| Northeastern States District Office National Public Lands | Bureau of Land Management | 15 | Open |
| Statewide Public Access State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 2 | Open |
| Statewide Public Access - Wd State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 2 | Open |
Trails & water
1 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.3 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.3 mi
off-road bike paths
When to get out
The walking year in Wheaton
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) | 9.1 | 10.3 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.8 | 15.6 | 15.3 | 14.1 | 12.5 | 10.9 | 9.5 | 8.8 |
| High (°F) | 23 | 28 | 41 | 56 | 68 | 77 | 81 | 79 | 71 | 57 | 41 | 28 |
| Rain (in) | 1.0 | 1.1 | 1.8 | 3.1 | 4.1 | 4.9 | 3.8 | 4.1 | 3.7 | 2.8 | 1.9 | 1.3 |
January is the driest month (1.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 81 °F). 4.9 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Wheaton →
Next door
Wheaton and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Eau Claire51 miChippewa Falls8.1 miElk Mound5.9 miLake Hallie4.1 miUnion1.3 miWheaton0.1 miTilden0.0 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wheaton | 1% | under 0.1 | 73 | 28% | C |
| Chippewa Falls | 9% | 0.7 | 69 | 99%+ | A |
| Lake Hallie | 6% | 0.3 | 75 | 98% | A− |
| Eau Claire | 6% | 1.5 | 29 | 93% | A |
| Elk Mound | 11% | 0.2 | 1,251 | 17% | B |
| Tilden | under 1% | under 0.1 | 4 | 3% | D− |
| Union | 3% | under 0.1 | 119 | 30% | C+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Wheaton
How much of Wheaton is conserved land?
1% 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 Wheaton’s trails?
Elk Creek Fishery Area doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Wheaton?
0.3 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.3 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Wheaton?
15,397 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Wheaton or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 218 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Wheaton have?
Ahead of 29% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #334 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 Wheaton 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 →