Kettle Moraine State Forest - Southern Unit
Managed by Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
1,680 acres7.1 mi of trail
Ice Age TrailMoraine Ridge TrailRice Lake Nature Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trailheadWebsite ↗
Photo: I, the copyright holder of this work, hereby publish it under the following license: · CC BY-SA 3.0B−Outdoors
Outdoors in Whitewater
Whitewater has 103 acres of parks, 87 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Kettle Moraine State Forest - Southern Unit (7.1 mi), Clover Valley State Wildlife Area (1 mi), Bluff Creek State Natural Area (0.5 mi). 9% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 12 miles of mapped trail cross Whitewater, 0.4 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 55% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
4%
765 acres · of 28.6 sq mi of land
Trails
12 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
103 ac
87 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
9%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
1,050 ft
Lone Tree Bluff
Lakes & rivers
2
2 beaches · 3 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Whitewater?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Whitewater have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Whitewater is ahead of 55% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Whitewater’s overall grade.
Conserved land4% of the land · typical WI town 4% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (12 mi) · WI 0.4 · U.S. 0.4BPark land87 acres of park per 1,000 residents (103 acres) · WI 31 · U.S. 13AParks close to home9% of residents within a half mile of a park · WI 90% · U.S. 72%D
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 55%
LessMore
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to B+. 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 Kettle Moraine State Forest - Southern Unit, with 7.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Clover Valley State Wildlife Area
Managed by Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
757 acres1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Bluff Creek State Natural Area
Managed by Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
278 acres0.5 mi of trail
Ice Age Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Clover Valley Fen State Natural Area
Nature preserve
30 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Who protects it
765 conserved acres
4% of Whitewater’s land. Who manages Whitewater’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources801 ac
County578 ac
Private owners83 ac
Bureau of Land Management1 ac
Town or city1 ac
State Conservation Area · 643 acState Recreation Area · 614 acState Park · 102 acState Resource Management Area · 64 acPrivate Conservation · 19 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scattered Wildlife State Conservation Area | County | 531 | Restricted |
| Clover Valley State Habitat Area - Wm State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 512 | Open |
| Ice Age Trail State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 102 | Open |
| Clover Valley State Habitat Area - Pr State Park | State natural resources | 102 | Open |
| Natural Area State Conservation Area | County | 65 | Restricted |
| Clover Valley Fen State Natural Area State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 65 | Restricted |
| Kettle Moraine State Forest-Southern Unit State Resource Management Area | Private owners | 64 | Open |
| Northeastern States District Office National Public Lands | Bureau of Land Management | 1 | Open |
| Trippe Lake Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
10 places to go in Whitewater
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Whitewater
Whitewater BeachIn Kettle Moraine State Forest - Southern Unit
DirectionsPlus 1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Whitewater
1 playground without a name on the map.
Boat launches in Whitewater
3 boat launches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Peaks in Whitewater
Lone Tree Bluff1,050 ft elevation · In Kettle Moraine State Forest - Southern Unit
DirectionsCampgrounds in Whitewater
Clover Valley DCAIce Age Trail Alliance
DirectionsHickory Woods Group CampgroundIn Kettle Moraine State Forest - Southern Unit
DirectionsWhitewater Lake CampgroundFee · In Kettle Moraine State Forest - Southern Unit · Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
DirectionsTrails & water
3 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Horses · 1.7 miUnpaved · 6.8 mi
Ice Age Trail3.7 mi
Moraine Ridge Trail1.6 mi
Rice Lake Nature Trail0.6 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
1Soccer
1Basketball
1Baseball
1Beach volleyball
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 Whitewater
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) | 9.4 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.6 | 15.3 | 15.0 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 28 | 32 | 44 | 57 | 69 | 79 | 83 | 81 | 74 | 61 | 46 | 33 |
| Rain (in) | 1.6 | 1.6 | 2.1 | 3.6 | 4.2 | 5.2 | 3.9 | 4.1 | 3.6 | 3.0 | 2.3 | 1.9 |
February is the driest month (1.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 5.2 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Whitewater →
Next door
Whitewater and its neighbors
Whitewater has the second most mapped trails of the 4 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Questions about parks and trails in Whitewater
Where can I hike in Whitewater?
The longest trail networks: Kettle Moraine State Forest - Southern Unit, 7.1 miles; Clover Valley State Wildlife Area, 1 miles; Bluff Creek State Natural Area, 0.5 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Whitewater is conserved land?
4% 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 Whitewater’s trails?
Kettle Moraine State Forest - Southern Unit and Clover Valley State Wildlife Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Whitewater?
24,019 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Whitewater or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 2,407 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Whitewater have?
Ahead of 55% 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 Whitewater 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 →