1
Hixon Forest
Park
549 acres14.9 mi of trail
VistaHickoryVista (2) - Building Champions TrailOakBicentennial
Dogs on leashMapped in OpenStreetMap
DirectionsTo the parking lot
Outdoors · La Crosse
La Crosse, WI parks, trails & bike paths
About 11% of La Crosse is conserved land, roughly 1,721 acres. There are about 50 miles of mapped trails, and the biggest networks are in Hixon Forest (14.9 mi), Upper Hixon Forest (8.9 mi), and La Crosse Blufflands - Mathy Property (6 mi).
Conserved land, trails, parks and bike routes in La Crosse, measured from OpenStreetMap and USGS data.
At a glance
La Crosse outdoors
Conserved land
11%
1,721 of 15,128 acres
Trails
50 mi
2.1 mi per sq mi · 32 on conserved land
Parks & preserves
51
34 conserved acres per 1,000 residents
Bike routes
49.7 mi
19.7 mi lanes · 19.0 mi off-road paths
Conserved land is a share of the whole town area. Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Map
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number or a place below to zoom in© OpenStreetMap contributors · USGS PAD-US
Places to walk
Parks & preserves with trails
Ranked by mapped trail miles. Directions go to the nearest marked trailhead or public parking.
2
Upper Hixon Forest
Park
122 acres8.9 mi of trail
TwisterPrairie LoopPrairie Loop (Lower)OB1Chicanery
Dog rules not recorded
DirectionsTo Human Powered Trails Parking
3
La Crosse Blufflands - Mathy Property
Park
475 acres6 mi of trail
QuarrySnakerootTable RockBlazingstarTable Rock Quarry
Dogs on leashMapped in OpenStreetMap
DirectionsTo La Crosse Blufflands Parking
4
Grandad Bluff Park
Park
146 acres5.8 mi of trail
TramwayWar EagleCompass Loop (North)WolfsbaneCompass Connector
Dogs on leashMapped in OpenStreetMap
DirectionsTo the parking lot
5
La Crosse Blufflands - Hass Property
Park
119 acres2.5 mi of trail
Ridge CrestClosedRogueCLOSED
Dogs on leashMapped in OpenStreetMap
DirectionsTo the parking lot
6
La Crosse Blufflands - Juniper Property
Park
50 acres1.3 mi of trail
CrownB.O.B.'s Ridge
Dogs on leashMapped in OpenStreetMap
DirectionsTo the parking lot
7
La Crosse Marsh
Nature preserve
341 acres0.5 mi of trail
Old Well TrailCottonwood Trail
Dog rules not recorded
DirectionsTo the parking lot
8
La Crosse Blufflands - Dobson Property
Park
51 acres0.5 mi of trail
Dobson Loop
Dogs on leashMapped in OpenStreetMap
DirectionsTo the parking lot
All 51 parks & preserves
Showing 1–10 of 51 parks & preserves
Hixon Forest549 acres · 14.9 mi of trail
Upper Hixon Forest122 acres · 8.9 mi of trail
La Crosse Blufflands - Mathy Property475 acres · 6 mi of trail
Grandad Bluff Park146 acres · 5.8 mi of trail
La Crosse Blufflands - Hass Property119 acres · 2.5 mi of trail
La Crosse Blufflands - Juniper Property50 acres · 1.3 mi of trail
La Crosse Marsh341 acres · 0.5 mi of trail
La Crosse Blufflands - Dobson Property51 acres · 0.5 mi of trail
Myrick Park30 acres · 0.5 mi of trail
La Crosse Blufflands - Beck Property21 acres · 0.5 mi of trail
Things to do
Beaches, playgrounds, falls & more
Pick a kind of place for the list, directions, or pins on the map above.
Scenic views in La Crosse
Showing 1–10 of 23 scenic views
BenchIn La Crosse Blufflands - Juniper Property
Birch Point PrairieIn Hixon Forest
BoyScout BenchIn La Crosse Blufflands - Hass Property
George's PointIn Grandad Bluff Park
Grand PrairieIn Grandad Bluff Park
Hass benchIn La Crosse Blufflands - Hass Property
Hixon ViewIn Grandad Bluff Park
Lenox PointIn La Crosse Blufflands - Lenox Property
Lookout PrairieIn Hixon Forest
Lower Dobson pointIn La Crosse Blufflands - Dobson Property
Trails
Named trails
Open to bikes 23.8 miUnpaved 42.7 mi
Showing 1–10 of 25 trails
- Vista2.5 mi
- Quarry2.0 mi
- Twister1.6 mi
- Hickory1.4 mi
- Vista (2) - Building Champions Trail1.3 mi
- Bicentennial1.3 mi
- Oak1.3 mi
- Ridge Crest1.2 mi
- Snakeroot1.2 mi
- Prairie Loop (Lower)1.1 mi
Water
Lakes & rivers
Showing 1–10 of 11 places
MarshPettibone LagoonReflecting PoolpondTrane Company FountainpondBlack RiverCatgut SloughEast ChannelLa Crosse RiverLa Plume SloughMississippi River
Tap a name for directions.
Who protects the land
1,721 conserved acres
Who manages it, from PAD-US. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Conserved doesn't always mean open to visitors. 2 acres are conservation easements, which are usually private land. The places listed above are parks and preserves people visit.
Biking & sports
Bike routes, courts & fields
- Painted or protected bike lanes19.7 mi
- Off-road bike paths19.0 mi
- Shoulders & shared lanes11.0 mi
- La Crosse Marsh Trails (bike route)1.2 mi
Courts & fields
- Baseball35
- Tennis35
- Basketball12
- Tracks12
- Soccer12
- Football10
- Skate park1
Counts include school and college facilities, which aren't always open to the public.
Public lands
The biggest protected places in La Crosse
From USGS PAD-US: who manages each one and whether visitors are welcome.
Local Park 1,287 acNational Wildlife Refuge 340 acState Conservation Area 85 acLocal Recreation Area 66 acState Recreation Area 63 ac
Showing 1–10 of 15 places
| Place | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hixon ForestLocal Park | Town or city | 702 | Open |
| Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife And Fish RefugeNational Wildlife Refuge | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 340 | Restricted |
| Statewide Habitat AreasState Conservation Area | State natural resources | 126 | Restricted |
| Upper Hixon ForestLocal Park | Town or city | 121 | Open |
| Pettibone ParkLocal Park | Town or city | 87 | Open |
| Grandad Bluff ParkLocal Park | Town or city | 70 | Open |
| Statewide Habitat Areas - WdState Recreation Area | State natural resources | 63 | Open |
| City Soccer FieldsLocal Recreation Area | Town or city | 54 | Open |
| Veterans Freedom Park & Boat LaunchLocal Park | Town or city | 35 | Open |
| La Crosse River State TrailState Park | State natural resources | 30 | Open |
History
Historic places to visit
Losey Memorial ArchMemorial
Memorial to the UnbornTomb
Red Cloud ParkIn Red Cloud Park · Plaque
Campbell CemeteryCemetery
Catholic Cemetery of La CrosseCemetery
Gable CemeteryCemetery
Gate of Heaven CemeteryCemetery
Oak Grove CemeteryCemetery
Oehler CemeteryCemetery
Woodlawn CemeteryCemetery
Nearby
La Crosse and its neighbors
Towns whose outdoors data has been built so far.
Trail talk
Conditions & tips from neighbors
No recent posts about La Crosse's trails yet. Muddy, icy, a bridge out, where to park: a quick post helps the next person.
Sources: trails, parks, preserves, courts and bike lanes © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), map data as of 2026-09-28. Conserved land: USGS Gap Analysis Project, Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US). Measured against the Census town boundary.
How we measure
"Trails" are OpenStreetMap paths, bridleways, public tracks and unpaved footways, plus footways inside a park or preserve or on a named trail route. Sidewalks are left out. Areas are counted on a 25.4-meter grid, so overlapping parcels count once. "Conserved" includes conservation easements, which protect land from development but are usually private property. Trailheads are the nearest marked trailhead, public parking lot or information board within about 150 meters of a preserve. Dog rules come from OpenStreetMap when someone has tagged them; otherwise we show what's typical for the land manager, or say the rules aren't recorded.