Palisades Wilderness Study Area
Managed by United States Forest Service
4,417 acres10.8 mi of trail
Black Canyon TrailHistory TrailBig Rocks TrailCrater Trail+1
Dogs allowed
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: User:Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 4.0B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Wilson
More than half of Wilson’s land is conserved: 57%
57% of Wilson’s land is conserved, about 8,407 acres. 34 miles of mapped trail cross Wilson, 1.5 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Palisades Wilderness Study Area (10.8 mi).
Ahead of 71% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
57%
8,407 acres · of 23.0 sq mi of land
Trails
34 mi
1.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
9 ac
8.4 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
25%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
17 mi
3.2 mi lanes · 7.4 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
3
What kind of outdoors town is Wilson?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Wilson have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Wilson is ahead of 71% of U.S. towns. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Wilson’s overall grade.
Conserved land57% of the land · typical WY town 9% · U.S. 4%A+Trails1.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (34 mi) · WY 1.2 · U.S. 0.4APark land8.4 acres of park per 1,000 residents (9 acres) · WY 21 · U.S. 13C+Parks close to home25% of residents within a half mile of a park · WY 91% · U.S. 72%C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 71%
LessMore
Wyoming towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 9%; the U.S., 4%), so Wilson’s 57% is ahead of 100% of Wyoming towns, while its trails per square mile lead 68% of them.
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 Palisades Wilderness Study Area, with 10.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
8,407 conserved acres
57% of Wilson’s land. Who manages Wilson’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
U.S. Forest Service7,578 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits645 ac
State land board185 ac
County26 ac
National Forest · 7,578 acOther Easement · 478 acState Resource Management Area · 185 acRanch Easement · 146 acLocal Park · 26 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 618 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 21 of 32 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Teton National Forest National Forest | U.S. Forest Service | 7,575 | Open |
| State Lands 1111115875 State Resource Management Area | State land board | 75 | Open |
| State Lands 1111115876 State Resource Management Area | State land board | 41 | Open |
| State Lands 1111115877 State Resource Management Area | State land board | 39 | Open |
| Hardeman Pond Park Local Park | County | 21 | Open |
| State Lands 1111115850 State Resource Management Area | State land board | 18 | Open |
| State Lands 1111119034 State Resource Management Area | State land board | 13 | Open |
| Owen-Bircher Park Local Park | County | 4 | Open |
| Targhee National Forest National Forest | U.S. Forest Service | 3 | Open |
Things to do
6 places to go in Wilson
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Wilson
5 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Scenic views in Wilson
1 scenic view without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
13 named trails and 3 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 22.0 miHorses · 22.6 miUnpaved · 27.0 mi
Ridge Trail8.6 mi
Black Canyon Trail4.9 mi
History Trail3.4 mi
Big Rocks Trail1.6 mi
Crater Trail1.5 mi
Snotel0.9 mi
Trail Creek Connector0.8 mi
Phillips Connector0.7 mi
Arrow Trail0.7 mi
Wilson to Stilson Trail0.6 mi
3 more trails
OPR Loop 4
0.5 miPhillip's Canyon Access Trail (Crosses Private Land Please Stay On Trail)
0.4 miHistory to Crater Connector
0.1 miLakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
17 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
3.2 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
7.4 mi
off-road bike paths
6.0 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Millenium PathwayBike route
0.4 mi76 (Wyoming)Bike route
0.4 miCourts & fields
4Equestrian
1Beach volleyball
1Basketball
1Tennis
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). The map also marks 1 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The best walking months in Wilson: May to September
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 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 28 | 32 | 41 | 50 | 61 | 70 | 79 | 79 | 69 | 54 | 38 | 28 |
| Rain (in) | 2.7 | 2.2 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.2 | 1.8 | 1.1 | 1.2 | 1.5 | 1.9 | 2.3 | 2.9 |
July is the driest month (1.1 in) and the warmest (highs of 79 °F). 2.9 inches fall in December, the wettest month. The climate in Wilson →
Next door
Wilson and its neighbors
Wilson 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wilson | 57% | 1.5 | 8 | 25% | B+ |
| Moose Wilson Road | 7% | 1.2 | 28 | 71% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Wilson
Where can I hike in Wilson?
The longest trail networks: Palisades Wilderness Study Area, 10.8 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Wilson is conserved land?
57% of its land, against a typical 9% for a Wyoming town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Wilson’s trails?
OpenStreetMap records dogs as welcome at Palisades Wilderness Study Area. For the rest, check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Wilson?
17 miles of bike routes are on the map: 3.2 of painted or protected lanes, 7.4 of off-road paths and 6.0 of shoulders and shared lanes. Named routes: Millenium Pathway and 76 (Wyoming).
Is there public land near Wilson?
47,686 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Wilson or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 2,831 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Wilson have?
Ahead of 71% 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 Wilson 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 →