Parks, beaches and places to go around Milwaukee
This list covers 83 public places in 27 towns around Milwaukee: parks, beaches, boat ramps, trails, dog parks, libraries, pools, museums, farmers markets, rainy-day spots and courts. Every row links to the place's official site and shows the day it was last checked.
Hours and fees change during the year, so they are left off this page. The official site has the current ones.
- Parks
- Beaches
- Boat ramps
- Trails
- Dog parks
- Libraries
- Pools
- Museums
- Farmers markets
- Rainy-day spots
- Courts
All 83 places
Showing 83 of 83
Parks
Park · Hales Corners
Boerner Botanical Gardens
The gardens are inside Whitnall Park and cover about forty acres of formal plantings, with arboretum trees along the parkways.
Outdoors · Fee
9400 Boerner Dr, Hales Corners, WI 53130
Official site · Checked
Park · Milwaukee
Brown Deer Park
Brown Deer Park runs to about 363 acres on the county's north edge and contains the Brown Deer Park Golf Course.
Outdoors
7835 N Green Bay Rd, Milwaukee, WI 53209
Official site · Checked
Park · Milwaukee
Cathedral Square Park
This 2.1-acre downtown square became a park in 1939 and carries the East Town farmers market and summer concerts.
Outdoors
520 E Wells St, Milwaukee, WI 53202
Official site · Checked
Park · Saukville
Cedarburg Bog State Natural Area
The bog was named a State Natural Area in 1952 and a National Natural Landmark in 1973.
Outdoors
State Highway 33 west of Saukville, WI
Official site · Checked
Park · Cedarburg
Covered Bridge Park
The 1876 span here is the last covered bridge left in Wisconsin, about three miles north of downtown Cedarburg.
Outdoors
1700 Cedar Creek Rd, Cedarburg, WI 53012
Official site · Checked
Park · Fox Point
Doctors Park
Doctors Park covers about 55 acres of wooded Lake Michigan shoreline next to the Schlitz Audubon Nature Center.
Outdoors
1870 E Fox Lane, Fox Point, WI 53217
Official site · Checked
Park · Milwaukee
Dretzka Park
Dretzka covers 327 acres in the county’s northwest corner, including a 210-acre public golf course and riding trails.
Outdoors
12020 W Bradley Rd, Milwaukee, WI 53224
Official site · Checked
Park · Milwaukee
Estabrook Park
Estabrook Park runs about 126 acres along the Milwaukee River between Capitol Drive and Hampton Avenue.
Outdoors
4400 N Estabrook Dr, Milwaukee, WI 53211
Official site · Checked
Park · Oconomowoc
Fowler Park
Fowler Lake covers 97 acres in the middle of Oconomowoc and a paved loop of about two miles runs around it.
Outdoors
438 N Oakwood Ave, Oconomowoc, WI 53066
Official site · Checked
Park · Brookfield
Fox Brook Park
Fox Brook covers 223 acres, 178 of them wetland, around a lake left behind by an old gravel pit.
Outdoors
2925 N Barker Rd, Brookfield, WI 53045
Official site · Checked
Park · Waukesha
Frame Park
Frame Park runs about 34 acres along the Fox River between Barstow Street and Moreland Boulevard.
Outdoors
1200 Frame Park Dr, Waukesha, WI 53186
Official site · Checked
Park · Milwaukee
Gordon Park
Gordon Park covers about 24 acres above the Milwaukee River, and its pavilion and splash pad went in after 2001.
Outdoors
1321 E Locust St, Milwaukee, WI 53212
Official site · Checked
Park · West Allis
Greenfield Park
Greenfield Park covers about 282 acres and its lagoon runs roughly six tenths of a mile around.
Outdoors
2028 S 124th St, West Allis, WI 53227
Official site · Checked
Park · Milwaukee
Havenwoods State Forest
Havenwoods is a 237-acre state forest inside the Milwaukee city limits, with an environmental awareness center on the grounds.
Outdoors
6141 N Hopkins St, Milwaukee, WI 53209
Official site · Checked
Park · Wauwatosa
Hoyt Park
The Menomonee River runs through Hoyt Park, and the pool there is operated by the nonprofit Friends of Hoyt Park and Pool.
Outdoors
1800 N Swan Blvd, Wauwatosa, WI 53226
Official site · Checked
Park · Shorewood
Hubbard Park
Hubbard Park is a five-acre strip between the Milwaukee River and the Oak Leaf Trail, reached through a pedestrian tunnel.
Outdoors
3565 N Morris Blvd, Shorewood, WI 53211
Official site · Checked
Park · Milwaukee
Jackson Park
WPA crews dug the lagoon here in the 1930s, and the loop around it measures about half a mile.
Outdoors
3500 W Forest Home Ave, Milwaukee, WI 53215
Official site · Checked
Park · Milwaukee
Kern Park
Kern Park runs about 30 acres between Humboldt Boulevard and the Milwaukee River on the city’s north east side.
Outdoors
3614 N Humboldt Blvd, Milwaukee, WI 53212
Official site · Checked
Park · Milwaukee
Kosciuszko Park
The pool and bathhouse here were WPA work, with the pool started in 1941 and the bathhouse finished in 1943.
Outdoors
2201 S 7th St, Milwaukee, WI 53215
Official site · Checked
Park · Milwaukee
Lake Park
Lake Park covers about 138 acres on the bluff above Lake Michigan and was laid out by Frederick Law Olmsted.
Outdoors
3233 E Kenwood Blvd, Milwaukee, WI 53211
Official site · Checked
Park · Milwaukee
Lakeshore State Park
Lakeshore State Park is Wisconsin's only urban state park, 22 acres of made land beside the Summerfest grounds.
Outdoors
500 N Harbor Dr, Milwaukee, WI 53202
Official site · Checked
Park · Delafield
Lapham Peak Unit, Kettle Moraine State Forest
Lapham Peak rises to 1,233 feet, the highest ground in Waukesha County, and a 45-foot wooden tower stands at the top.
Outdoors
W329 N846 S Cushing Park Rd, Delafield, WI 53018
Official site · Checked
Park · Grafton
Lion's Den Gorge Nature Preserve
Ozaukee County bought these 73 acres in 2002, and the trails run along bluffs close to 100 feet above Lake Michigan.
Outdoors
511 High Bluff Dr, Grafton, WI 53024
Official site · Checked
Park · West Bend
Lizard Mound State Park
Twenty-eight effigy, conical and linear mounds survive on these 22 acres north of West Bend.
Outdoors
2121 County Hwy A, West Bend, WI
Official site · Checked
Park · Milwaukee
McGovern Park
McGovern Park covers about 61 acres on the northwest side, and its senior center is closed indefinitely.
Outdoors
4500 W Custer Ave, Milwaukee, WI
Official site · Checked
Park · Menomonee Falls
Menomonee Park
The park covers 478 acres and its 16-acre quarry lake is left over from stone quarrying between 1880 and 1900.
Outdoors
W220 N7884 Town Line Rd, Menomonee Falls, WI 53051
Official site · Checked
Park · Waukesha
Minooka Park
Minooka is the largest park in the Waukesha County system at 579 acres.
Outdoors
1927 E Sunset Dr, Waukesha, WI 53186
Official site · Checked
Park · Muskego
Muskego Park
Waukesha County bought its first regional park here in 1958, and its 193 acres ring a spring-fed pond with a sand beach.
Outdoors
S83 W20370 Janesville Rd, Muskego, WI 53150
Official site · Checked
Park · Nashotah
Nashotah Park
Nashotah Park runs about 444 acres of glacial hills, oak forest, savanna and marsh, with trails between them.
Outdoors
W330 N5113 County Rd C, Nashotah, WI 53058
Official site · Checked
Park · Milwaukee
Pere Marquette Park
Pere Marquette Park is a 1.9-acre green on the west bank of the Milwaukee River downtown.
Outdoors
900 N Plankinton Ave, Milwaukee, WI 53203
Official site · Checked
Park · Hartford
Pike Lake Unit, Kettle Moraine State Forest
Powder Hill is a glacial kame above Pike Lake, and a 60-foot observation tower stands on top of it.
Outdoors
3544 Kettle Moraine Rd, Hartford, WI 53027
Official site · Checked
Park · West Bend
Sandy Knoll County Park
Sandy Knoll is the oldest and largest park in the Washington County system at 257 acres, with a beach on its pond.
Outdoors
2064 Wallace Lake Rd, West Bend, WI 53090
Official site · Checked
Park · Cudahy
Sheridan Park
Sheridan Park covers about 132 acres on the Lake Michigan bluff in Cudahy and the Oak Leaf Trail runs through it.
Outdoors
4800 S Lake Dr, Cudahy, WI 53110
Official site · Checked
Park · Milwaukee
Sherman Park
The city bought this land in 1891 as Perrigo Park and later renamed it for William Tecumseh Sherman.
Outdoors
3000 N Sherman Blvd, Milwaukee, WI 53210
Official site · Checked
Park · Milwaukee
South Shore Park
South Shore Park covers about 47 acres in Bay View, and relief workers built its pavilion in 1933.
Outdoors
2900 S Shore Dr, Milwaukee, WI 53207
Official site · Checked
Park · Milwaukee
Veterans Park
Veterans Park runs 92 acres along the lakefront and its lagoon measures about 1.3 miles around.
Outdoors
1010 N Lincoln Memorial Dr, Milwaukee, WI 53202
Official site · Checked
Park · Mequon
Virmond Park
Virmond Park covers about 63 acres on the Lake Michigan bluff north of the Milwaukee County line.
Outdoors
10606 N Lake Shore Dr, Mequon, WI 53092
Official site · Checked
Park · Cudahy
Warnimont Park
Warnimont runs 248 acres of Lake Michigan bluff in Cudahy, with a golf course and a stretch of the Oak Leaf Trail.
Outdoors
5400 S Lake Dr, Cudahy, WI 53110
Official site · Checked
Park · Milwaukee
Washington Park
Washington Park is one of the Milwaukee parks laid out by Frederick Law Olmsted and it holds a band shell and a lagoon.
Outdoors
1859 N 40th St, Milwaukee, WI 53208
Official site · Checked
Park · Franklin
Whitnall Park
Whitnall Park is the largest park in the Milwaukee County system and holds the Boerner Botanical Gardens and Wehr Nature Center.
Outdoors
5879 S 92nd St, Franklin, WI 53132
Official site · Checked
Park · Milwaukee
Wilson Park
Wilson Park covers about 77 acres on the south side and holds a recreation center, an ice arena and an outdoor pool.
Outdoors
4001 S 20th St, Milwaukee, WI 53221
Official site · Checked
Beaches
Beach · Shorewood
Atwater Park and Beach
Atwater Park is on the bluff at the head of East Capitol Drive and a stairway drops from the park to the beach.
Outdoors
4000 N Lake Dr, Shorewood, WI 53211
Official site · Checked
Beach · Whitefish Bay
Big Bay Park
Big Bay Park is one of the Milwaukee County beaches the state monitors for water quality on the Whitefish Bay shore.
Outdoors
5000 N Lake Dr, Whitefish Bay, WI 53217
Official site · Checked
Beach · Milwaukee
Bradford Beach
Bradford Beach is the most used beach in the Milwaukee County park system and is below Lake Park on Lincoln Memorial Drive.
Outdoors
2400 N Lincoln Memorial Dr, Milwaukee, WI 53211
Official site · Checked
Beach · Belgium
Harrington Beach State Park
The park runs about a mile of Lake Michigan shoreline and holds a 26-acre lake in a worked-out dolomite quarry.
Outdoors
531 County Hwy D, Belgium, WI 53004
Official site · Checked
Beach · Whitefish Bay
Klode Park
Klode Park is on the bluff with a trail down to the beach, and courts and a playground at the top.
Outdoors
5960 N Lake Dr, Whitefish Bay, WI 53217
Official site · Checked
Beach · Milwaukee
McKinley Beach
McKinley Beach reopened in May 2024 after nearly four years closed for rip current hazards and a sand rebuild.
Outdoors
1750 N Lincoln Memorial Dr, Milwaukee, WI 53202
Official site · Checked
Boat ramps
Boat ramp · Muskego
Idle Isle Park boat launch
Idle Isle is a seven-acre city park on Little Muskego Lake with a boat launch, a fishing pier and a beach.
Outdoors · Fee
- Boat launch
- Fishing
- Restrooms
W182 S6666 Hardtke Dr, Muskego, WI 53150
Official site · Checked
Boat ramp · Milwaukee
McKinley Marina
McKinley Marina holds 655 slips on floating docks, with a fuel dock and pump-out on the Milwaukee lakefront.
Outdoors · Fee
- Boat launch
- Parking
- Restrooms
1750 N Lincoln Memorial Dr, Milwaukee, WI 53202
Official site · Checked
Trails
Trail · South Milwaukee
Seven Bridges Trail
The Seven Bridges Trail is a two-mile loop through the ravines of Grant Park on the Lake Michigan shore.
Outdoors
Grant Park, 100 Hawthorne Ave, South Milwaukee, WI 53172
Official site · Checked
Dog parks
Dog park · Milwaukee
Estabrook Dog Exercise Area
The Estabrook dog area is fully fenced with separate spaces for small and large dogs, and a county permit is required.
Outdoors · Fee
- Off-leash area
- Dogs allowed
- Parking
4400 N Estabrook Dr, Milwaukee, WI 53211
Official site · Checked
Dog park · Cudahy
Warnimont Dog Exercise Area
The Warnimont dog area runs five fenced acres with wooded trails and a separate small-dog space.
Outdoors · Fee
- Off-leash area
- Dogs allowed
5400 S Lake Dr, Cudahy, WI 53110
Official site · Checked
Libraries
Library · Milwaukee
Milwaukee Public Library, Central Library
The limestone Central Library opened in 1898 and joined the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.
Indoors · Free
814 W Wisconsin Ave, Milwaukee, WI 53233
Official site · Checked
Library · Milwaukee
Milwaukee Public Library, East Branch
The East branch occupies the ground floor of a mixed-use building on Cramer Street.
Indoors · Free
2320 N Cramer St, Milwaukee, WI 53211
Official site · Checked
Library · Milwaukee
Milwaukee Public Library, Villard Square Branch
The Villard Square branch runs 12,770 square feet on the ground floor, with apartments for grandfamilies above it.
Indoors · Free
5190 N 35th St, Milwaukee, WI
Official site · Checked
Library · Oak Creek
Oak Creek Public Library
Oak Creek keeps its public library on South 6th Street, next to the city hall campus.
Indoors · Free
8040 S 6th St, Oak Creek, WI 53154
Official site · Checked
Library · Shorewood
Shorewood Public Library
Shorewood runs its own village library on North Murray Avenue, a block off Capitol Drive.
Indoors · Free
3920 N Murray Ave, Shorewood, WI 53211
Official site · Checked
Pools
Pool · Milwaukee
David F. Schulz Aquatic Center
The Schulz center is in Lincoln Park and runs tube and body waterslides plus a lazy river in the summer season.
Outdoors · Fee
1301 W Hampton Ave, Milwaukee, WI 53209
Official site · Checked
Pool · Milwaukee
Pelican Cove
Pelican Cove is the outdoor waterpark in Kosciuszko Park, with full-size and children’s waterslides.
Outdoors · Fee
2201 S 7th St, Milwaukee, WI 53215
Official site · Checked
Museums
Museum · Milwaukee
Betty Brinn Children's Museum
The museum opened in 1995 and its hands-on exhibits are built for children roughly one to ten years old.
Indoors · Fee · Under 5
929 E Wisconsin Ave, Milwaukee, WI 53202
Official site · Checked
Museum · Milwaukee
Discovery World
Discovery World is a 120,000 square foot science and technology center on the lakefront, with an aquarium and the tall ship Denis Sullivan.
Indoors · Fee
500 N Harbor Dr, Milwaukee, WI 53202
Official site · Checked
Museum · Milwaukee
Grohmann Museum
The Milwaukee School of Engineering opened this museum in a converted 1924 auto dealership, and its collection is all pictures of people working.
Indoors · Fee
1000 N Broadway, Milwaukee, WI 53202
Official site · Checked
Museum · Milwaukee
Harley-Davidson Museum
The museum opened in July 2008 on a 20-acre Menomonee Valley site and holds more than 450 motorcycles.
Indoors · Fee
400 W Canal St, Milwaukee, WI 53203
Official site · Checked
Museum · Milwaukee
Jewish Museum Milwaukee
The core exhibit traces Jewish life in Milwaukee and beyond, and the collection includes a wall-sized Marc Chagall tapestry.
Indoors · Fee
1360 N Prospect Ave, Milwaukee, WI 53202
Official site · Checked
Museum · Milwaukee
Milwaukee Art Museum
The museum's Quadracci Pavilion was designed by Santiago Calatrava, opened in 2001 and carries a moving sunscreen over its hall.
Indoors · Fee
700 N Art Museum Dr, Milwaukee, WI 53202
Official site · Checked
Museum · Milwaukee
Mitchell Gallery of Flight
The aviation museum is inside the Mitchell airport terminal before security, so you can see it without a boarding pass.
Indoors · Free
5300 S Howell Ave, Milwaukee, WI 53207
Official site · Checked
Museum · West Bend
Museum of Wisconsin Art
The museum opened this building on the bank of the Milwaukee River in West Bend in 2012.
Indoors · Fee
205 Veterans Ave, West Bend, WI 53095
Official site · Checked
Museum · Milwaukee
North Point Lighthouse
The lighthouse stands inside Lake Park, dates to 1888 and its tower runs about 74 feet to the gallery.
Indoors · Fee
2650 N Wahl Ave, Milwaukee, WI 53211
Official site · Checked
Museum · Milwaukee
Pabst Mansion
Captain Frederick Pabst finished this Flemish Renaissance Revival house in 1892 and it joined the National Register in 1975.
Indoors · Fee
2000 W Wisconsin Ave, Milwaukee, WI 53233
Official site · Checked
Museum · Genesee Depot
Ten Chimneys
The summer estate of Broadway actors Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne was named a National Historic Landmark in 2003.
Indoors · Fee
S43 W31575 Depot Rd, Genesee Depot, WI
Official site · Checked
Museum · West Bend
The Tower Heritage Center
The Washington County Historical Society runs its museum and research center in the old county courthouse and jail.
Indoors
320 S 5th Ave, West Bend, WI 53095
Official site · Checked
Museum · Milwaukee
Villa Terrace Museum and Gardens
David Adler designed this Italian Renaissance style villa in 1923 for the Smith family of Milwaukee, and it became a museum in 1966.
Indoors · Fee
2220 N Terrace Ave, Milwaukee, WI 53202
Official site · Checked
Museum · Waukesha
Waukesha County Museum
The county historical society has kept its museum in the 1893 courthouse on Waukesha Courthouse Square since 1914.
Indoors
101 W Main St, Waukesha, WI 53186
Official site · Checked
Farmers markets
Farmers market · Milwaukee
Fondy Farmers Market
Fondy is an open-air market on Fond du Lac Avenue that runs through the growing season from May into November.
Outdoors
2200 W Fond du Lac Ave, Milwaukee, WI 53206
Official site · Checked
Farmers market · Milwaukee
Milwaukee Public Market
The market opened in the Historic Third Ward in 2005 and leases its stalls mostly to local food businesses.
Indoors
400 N Water St, Milwaukee, WI 53202
Official site · Checked
Rainy-day spots
Rainy-day spot · Brookfield
Eble Park Ice Arena
Eble is the Waukesha County indoor ice arena on Bluemound Road, and it runs skating year round.
Indoors · Fee
19400 W Bluemound Rd, Brookfield, WI 53045
Official site · Checked
Rainy-day spot · Milwaukee
Milwaukee County Zoo
The county zoo covers 200 acres off Bluemound Road and keeps about 3,100 animals from some 350 species.
Outdoors · Fee
- Parking
10001 W Bluemound Rd, Milwaukee, WI 53226
Official site · Checked
Rainy-day spot · Milwaukee
Mitchell Park Horticultural Conservatory
Three conical glass domes built in 1964 cover about 45,000 square feet of desert, tropical and show plantings.
Indoors · Fee
524 S Layton Blvd, Milwaukee, WI 53215
Official site · Checked
Rainy-day spot · Milwaukee
Pettit National Ice Center
The Pettit opened in 1992 as the first enclosed speed skating oval in the country and holds two hockey rinks as well.
Indoors · Fee
500 S 84th St, Milwaukee, WI 53214
Official site · Checked
Rainy-day spot · Bayside
Schlitz Audubon Nature Center
The center holds 185 acres of forest, ponds, prairie and Lake Michigan shoreline with about six miles of trails.
Indoors · Fee
1111 E Brown Deer Rd, Bayside, WI 53217
Official site · Checked
Rainy-day spot · Milwaukee
Urban Ecology Center, Riverside Park
The Riverside Park branch is the Urban Ecology Center’s first, on the east side above the Milwaukee River.
Indoors
1500 E Park Pl, Milwaukee, WI 53211
Official site · Checked
Rainy-day spot · Franklin
Wehr Nature Center
Wehr covers 220 acres inside Whitnall Park and has run an interpretive center and trail system since 1974.
Indoors
9701 W College Ave, Franklin, WI 53132
Official site · Checked
Courts
Courts · Milwaukee
Kosciuszko Park courts
Kosciuszko Park keeps tennis courts beside its picnic areas and community center on the south side.
Outdoors
2201 S 7th St, Milwaukee, WI 53215
Official site · Checked
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This directory was last checked as a whole on September 22, 2026.
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