Northern Highland American Legion State Forest
Managed by Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
13,554 acres33.3 mi of trail
Nature Trail Loop
No dogs
Directionsto the trailheadWebsite ↗
Photo: I, the copyright holder of this work, hereby publish it under the following license: · CC BY-SA 3.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Woodruff
More than half of Woodruff’s land is conserved: 73%
73% of Woodruff’s land is conserved, about 13,057 acres. 236 acres are parks and preserves, 152 per 1,000 residents. 37 miles of mapped trail cross Woodruff, 1.3 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 94% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
73%
13,057 acres · of 28.1 sq mi of land
Trails
37 mi
1.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
236 ac
152 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
58%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
11 mi
6.6 mi lanes · 4.7 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
21
1 beach · 8 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Woodruff?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Woodruff have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Woodruff is ahead of 94% of U.S. towns. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Woodruff’s overall grade.
Conserved land73% of the land · typical WI town 4% · U.S. 4%A+Trails1.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (37 mi) · WI 0.4 · U.S. 0.4APark land152 acres of park per 1,000 residents (236 acres) · WI 31 · U.S. 13AParks close to home58% 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 94%
LessMore
Water is 21% of Woodruff’s area (7 of 36 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 58%.
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 Northern Highland American Legion State Forest, with 33.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Kemp Natural Resources Station
Managed by University of Wisconsin-Madison
377 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
13,057 conserved acres
73% of Woodruff’s land. Water is left out: Woodruff has 28.1 square miles of land and 7.4 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Woodruff’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources13,181 ac
State Resource Management Area · 12,934 acState Conservation Area · 123 acState Recreation Area · 105 acForest Stewardship Easement · 18 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 18 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| American Legion State Forest State Resource Management Area | State natural resources | 12,923 | Open |
| New Wood Wildlife Area 1 State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 113 | Open |
| Arthur A. Oehmcke Fish Hatchery State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 105 | Open |
| State Owned Islands State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 11 | Open |
| State Owned Islands - Nw State Resource Management Area | State natural resources | 11 | Open |
Things to do
19 places to go in Woodruff
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Woodruff
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in Woodruff
8 boat launches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Picnic areas in Woodruff
1 picnic area without a name on the map.
Campgrounds in Woodruff
Buffalo Lake CampgroundFee · In Northern Highland American Legion State Forest · Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
DirectionsCarrol Lake CampgroundFee · In Northern Highland American Legion State Forest · Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
DirectionsClear Lake CampgroundFee · In Northern Highland American Legion State Forest · Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
DirectionsCunard Lake CampgroundFee · In Northern Highland American Legion State Forest · Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
DirectionsIndian Mounds CampgroundFee · In Northern Highland American Legion State Forest · Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
DirectionsPlus 4 campgrounds without a name on the map.
Trails & water
1 named trail and 21 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 13.0 mi
Nature Trail Loop1.4 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Buffalo LakelakeCarrol LakelakeClear LakelakeCrescent LakelakeCunard LakeDorothy LakelakeGilmore LakelakeHasbrook LakelakeHemlock LakelakeInkpot LakelakeJyme LakeLittle Bass LakeMadeline LakelakeMid LakelakeMiller LakelakeSureshot LakelakeSweeny LakelakeThree Little LakeslakeTomahawk LakelakeZottle LakelakeTomahawk River
Biking & sports
11 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
6.6 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
4.7 mi
off-road bike paths
When to get out
August is the best month for walking in Woodruff
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) | 9.0 | 10.3 | 11.8 | 13.5 | 14.9 | 15.7 | 15.4 | 14.1 | 12.5 | 10.8 | 9.4 | 8.7 |
| High (°F) | 21 | 26 | 38 | 51 | 65 | 74 | 77 | 75 | 67 | 53 | 38 | 26 |
| Rain (in) | 1.3 | 1.1 | 1.7 | 2.9 | 3.7 | 4.5 | 4.1 | 3.5 | 3.7 | 3.5 | 2.0 | 1.6 |
February is the driest month (1.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 77 °F). 4.5 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Woodruff →
Next door
Woodruff and its neighbors
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Woodruff | 73% | 1.3 | 152 | 58% | A |
| Minocqua | 25% | 0.4 | 127 | 44% | A− |
| Arbor Vitae | 1% | 0.7 | 40 | 11% | C+ |
| Newbold | 44% | 0.2 | 1,239 | 50% | A− |
| Lake Tomahawk | 69% | 0.5 | 1,778 | 20% | A− |
| Lac du Flambeau | 11% | 0.4 | 11 | 14% | B− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Woodruff
Where can I hike in Woodruff?
The longest trail networks: Northern Highland American Legion State Forest, 33.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Woodruff is conserved land?
73% 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 Woodruff’s trails?
Northern Highland American Legion State Forest and Kemp Natural Resources Station don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Woodruff?
11 miles of bike routes are on the map: 6.6 of painted or protected lanes and 4.7 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Woodruff?
134,868 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Woodruff or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 13,195 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Woodruff have?
Ahead of 94% 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 Woodruff 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 →