Pheasant Branch Conservancy - Nature preserve in Middleton - 4864 Pheasant Branch Rd, USA

Nice paved paths. Lots of wild life. Small creeks & decent view of the river. There were a lot of places on the path without a map. 2/3rd of the way around the trial there is public restrooms & a place to get cold water.

Love this place. Beautifully restored and protected swath of prairie, oak savanna, woodland, stream, and natural springs. Great, well-maintained trails for walking and biking. Excellent bird-watching and general nature viewing.

Great place to hike/trail run or gravel/mtb in the Madison area. Lots of trails and interpretive signs. Plenty of parking at various lots surrounding the park.

Absolutely gorgeous urban park! I was reading through reviews and I found pretty much every single one of the low reviews to be laughable! People complain of getting 4 mosquito bites, being able to see houses and not feeling out of the city, and there being better prairies or trout streams or whatever in the area etc. The thing is....this is an URBAN park and wetland. If your intent is to find remote hiking, then this was never the place you should be seeking out and giving it a poor rating based on that is unfair. That's comparing apples to oranges. This park is literally 15min from Downtown Madison. It is in no way remote and given it's size and being surrounded on all sides by city, it is foolish to expect to have trails to yourself or not be able to see houses etc I love visiting urban parks and green spaces and this is the best one I've seen in a long time, certainly the best I have seen in Wisconsin so far. The prairie was in full bloom and there were dozens of different types of flowers in bloom with several species of butterflies and bees all about. The main 3 mile loop trail around the park offered tons of different vantage points and types of habit to walk through. I was there after heavy rains and it was nice that all the boardwalks had anti-slip materials on every other board so it was super easy and safe to walk on. I can honestly say I can't think of a single improvement I would like to see. It was spectacular!

My favorite place to go walking with friends and take my dog out for a nice immersion into nature. The reserve is great and very well maintained. Highly recommend taking a stroll through one day.

Beautiful park with lots of different parking spots and entrances to check out. I always see deer, cool birds and turkeys when I come. There is even an eagle nesting area. I love the natural springs too and the giant mound you can walk up with a nice view of the park and Lake Mendota/the capitol.

It's a fine park but nothing special. The arboretum has prettier trees. Governor Nelson State Park has a nicer prairie. Governor Dodge State Park has more interesting water features. All in all, in this park is all around mediocre, but it does have a little bit of everything and is located in the heart of Madison. So, if you just want a quick evening outing, this is a fine park.

Love this place to walk with my dog, run, take pictures. Excellent for bird watching and wildlife watching. You can see the colors of the landscape and wildlife changing as seasons pass. The trails are long, some accessible (boardwalks), that majority are dirt/gravel/grass. Some trails are shaded in the woods and others go through open prairie. Have your camera ready!