Dane County Parks

Located in south-central Wisconsin, Dane County Parks offers a variety of recreational opportunities for users to enjoy the outdoors. Natural settings provide scenic getaways as well as unique locations for your activities and special events. Dane County Parks is dedicated to making your experience enjoyable and takes an active role to enhance and preserve the county’s finest natural resources. Dane County Parks is a division of the Dane County Land & Water Resources Department.

Dane County Parks welcomes nearly 4 million visitors annually and manages over 17,000 acres of land, including: 25 Recreation Parks, 20 Wildlife Areas, 14 Natural Resource Areas, 4 Historical or Cultural Sites, 2 Forests, 8 Dog Parks, and over 100 miles of trails (bike, equestrian, and cross-country ski trails). We have 3,000+ acres of conservation and streambank easements, 5 campgrounds and multiple adult and youth group camping sites, and offer youth educational programming and event hosting space at our Lussier Family Heritage Center. 

Volunteers are integral to our system and help with many of our day-to-day operations.