1
University of Wisconsin Arboretum
Nature preserve
996 acres12.7 mi of trail
L6-L8G4-L4E5-E8J4-J5M1-N5
Dog rules not recorded
Outdoors · Madison
Madison, WI parks, trails & bike paths
About 9.6% of Madison is conserved land, roughly 6,464 acres. There are about 154 miles of mapped trails, and the biggest networks are in University of Wisconsin Arboretum (12.7 mi), Lakeshore Nature Preserve (10.7 mi), and Elver Park (7.8 mi).
Conserved land, trails, parks and bike routes in Madison, measured from OpenStreetMap and USGS data.
At a glance
Madison outdoors
Conserved land
9.6%
6,464 of 67,187 acres
Trails
154 mi
1.5 mi per sq mi · 85 on conserved land
Parks & preserves
261
23 conserved acres per 1,000 residents
Bike routes
343.0 mi
204.7 mi lanes · 103.6 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
Lakeshore Nature Preserve
Managed by UW-Madison
299 acres10.7 mi of trail
Big Oak Trail
Dog rules not recorded
DirectionsTo the parking lot
3
Elver Park
Managed by City of Madison
250 acres7.8 mi of trail
Forest LoopWalnut LoopBall Field LoopStaircase TrailsHawk's Loop
Dog rules not recorded
4
William G. Lunney Lake Farm County Park
Managed by Dane County
311 acres5.5 mi of trail
Lussier-Drumlin Trail
Dog rules not recorded
DirectionsTo the trailhead
5
Owen Conservation Park
Managed by City of Madison
99 acres3.6 mi of trail
Crestwood School Path
No dogsMapped in OpenStreetMap
DirectionsTo the parking lot
6
Cherokee Marsh South Unit
Nature preserve
257 acres3.4 mi of trail
Cherokee Marsh Trail (southCherokee Marsh Trail (south)
Dog rules not recorded
DirectionsTo the parking lot
7
Yahara Heights County Park
Park
123 acres3.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
DirectionsTo the parking lot
8
Ice Age Trail Junction Area
Managed by Dane County Parks
128 acres2.6 mi of trail
Ice Age Trail
Dog rules not recorded
All 261 parks & preserves
Showing 1–10 of 261 parks & preserves
University of Wisconsin Arboretum996 acres · 12.7 mi of trail
Lakeshore Nature Preserve299 acres · 10.7 mi of trail · UW-Madison
Elver Park250 acres · 7.8 mi of trail · City of Madison
William G. Lunney Lake Farm County Park311 acres · 5.5 mi of trail · Dane County
Owen Conservation Park99 acres · 3.6 mi of trail · City of Madison
Cherokee Marsh South Unit257 acres · 3.4 mi of trail
Yahara Heights County Park123 acres · 3.4 mi of trail
Ice Age Trail Junction Area128 acres · 2.6 mi of trail · Dane County Parks
Quarry Park18 acres · 2.6 mi of trail
Turville Point Conservation Park63 acres · 2.5 mi of trail
Who protects the land
6,464 conserved acres
Who manages it, from PAD-US. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Conserved doesn't always mean open to visitors. 139 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 lanes204.7 mi
- Off-road bike paths103.6 mi
- Shoulders & shared lanes34.7 mi
Courts & fields
- Tennis186
- Basketball166
- Soccer98
- Baseball61
- Beach volleyball30
- Pickleball22
- Softball15
Counts include school and college facilities, which aren't always open to the public.
Nearby
Madison and its neighbors
Towns whose outdoors data has been built so far.
Trail talk
Conditions & tips from neighbors
No recent posts about Madison'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 46.1-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.