Middleton-Cross Plains Area School District
Cross Plains Homes For Sale
Cross Plains is a village in the Black Earth Creek valley, about 14 miles west of Madison on U.S. Highway 14, inside the Middleton-Cross Plains Area School District, with the Ice Age National Scenic Trail running through town.
1920
Established
4,104
Population
Dane County · Village
County
On The Map
Where Cross Plains sits.
Dane County, Wisconsin, in the Black Earth Creek valley west of Middleton. Distances below are straight-line from the village, not driving times.
14 mi
The Capitol Square, Madison
as the crow flies
16 mi
Dane County Regional Airport
as the crow flies
19 mi
Dan Chin Homes, McFarland
as the crow flies
Distances are straight-line (“as the crow flies”), not driving times.
Live Listings
Homes for sale in Cross Plains.
Real-time listings from the MLS, updated around the clock, tagged to Cross Plains. That search can include the village and nearby addresses in the Town of Cross Plains.
Listing data is provided courtesy of the MLS through IDX. Data is deemed reliable but not guaranteed.
A Local's Perspective
Life in Cross Plains.
Cross Plains is a village in the Black Earth Creek valley in western Dane County. The village history page says it was incorporated in 1920 from three earlier settlements, Cross Plains, Foxville, and Christina, and named for two roads that crossed here. The 2025 parks plan places that start on a prairie where the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway met two military roads, and says mills, stores, a creamery, a bank, and lumber operations followed the railroad. Commercial streets still run along U.S. Highway 14.
The Census Bureau's 2024 Gazetteer puts the village at 1.881 square miles of land. The 2025 parks plan places it about 14 miles west of Madison and cites a 2020 Census population of 4,104 and a Wisconsin Department of Administration estimate of 4,202 people in 2024. The plan says the whole village is in the Black Earth Creek watershed and calls the creek a Class 1 trout stream. Brewery Creek and Garfoot Creek are nearby tributaries.
The village is a separate municipality from the Town of Cross Plains around it. U.S. Highway 14 runs east to Middleton and Madison and west toward Black Earth and Mazomanie. The Ice Age National Scenic Trail passes through the village. The Ice Age Trail Alliance keeps its headquarters at 2110 Main Street and says that office is on the trail.
See homes, towns and the full school list on the Middleton-Cross Plains school district page.
At A Glance
- Established
- 1920
- Population
- 4,104
- County
- Dane County · Village
- School district
- Middleton-Cross Plains Area School District
- HOA Norm
- Mixed
Highlights
What defines Cross Plains.
Ice Age National Scenic Trail
The trail runs through the village. The Ice Age Trail Alliance office at 2110 Main Street sits on that stretch, and the 2025 parks plan says a trail segment was added in the Glacial Valley Conservancy in 2018.
Black Earth Creek
The 2025 parks plan says the entire village is in the Black Earth Creek watershed and calls the creek a Class 1 trout stream. H.M. Zander Park follows the creek through the village.
A village that is still adding houses
The 2025 parks plan says newer houses and commercial buildings have gone in along U.S. Highway 14, with neighborhood growth north and south of the highway. The 2018 comprehensive plan described Glacier Ridge as a single-family neighborhood under construction in 2017.
Neighborhoods
Where to look in Cross Plains.
Main Street and Highway 14
The 2025 parks plan says the old Cross Plains, Christina, and Foxville settlements still read as commercial stretches along U.S. Highway 14. Main Street is where the Ice Age Trail Alliance office and the older village center sit.
Glacier Ridge
The 2018 comprehensive plan names Glacier Ridge as the neighborhood tied to a 2017 jump in single-family building permits. The 2025 parks plan places a playground for that subdivision with the expanded acreage of Baer Park, near Military Road.
Cedar Hill
The 2025 parks plan describes a wooded conservancy on the east side of the Cedar Hill subdivision, with a hilltop trail that connects to the Cedar Glen hiking trail. Cedar Glen Conservancy, about 33 acres, adjoins it and includes mountain-bike trails.
St. Francis
A neighborhood the 2025 parks plan names in connection with Raspberry Park, which the plan describes as 9.7 acres. The plan also discusses expanding that park on the northeast side of the village, west of County Highway P.
Lifestyle
Around Cross Plains.
Days in Cross Plains run between the valley, the hillside conservancies, and the highway into Middleton.
Ice Age National Scenic Trail — through the village, with the Ice Age Trail Alliance headquarters at 2110 Main Street.
Hickory Hill Conservancy — 53 acres in the 2025 parks plan: woods, prairie remnants, an overlook of the creek valley, and an Ice Age Trail corridor. Groundswell holds a conservation easement.
Cedar Glen Conservancy — about 33 acres of Driftless hillside, with hiking access from village streets and mountain-bike trails, including Driftless Downs, opened in 2018 with the Cross Plains chapter of the Capital Area Offroad Pathfinders.
H.M. Zander Park — a parkway of about 9.4 acres along Black Earth Creek.
Baer Park — ball fields on Military Road. The 2025 plan discusses adding fields here and studying a new site for the village pool, which is at Municipal Park today.
Municipal Park and the Rosemary Garfoot Public Library — the park holds the village pool, where the Cross Plains Stingrays summer swim team practices. The library is next door at 2107 Julius Street.
Schools
Schools for Cross Plains.
The village's December 2018 comprehensive plan says Cross Plains is served by the Middleton-Cross Plains Area School District and names the schools below for the Park Elementary attendance area. The district runs other schools, in Middleton and elsewhere. A house with a Cross Plains address is not a promise that it is assigned to these buildings.
Elementary
- Park Elementary School
Middle
- Glacier Creek Middle School
High
- Middleton High School
The village's December 2018 comprehensive plan says students in the Park Elementary boundary attend Glacier Creek Middle School, then Middleton High School or Clark Street Community School. The district has opened schools since that plan, including Pope Farm Elementary. Boundaries change, and a Cross Plains mailing address in the Town of Cross Plains can fall in a different district. Confirm the schools for a specific address with the district.
HOAs & POAs
Cross Plains HOA norms
Cross Plains is a village, not one homeowners association wrapped around every house. Older streets near Main Street often have no association. Newer subdivisions can, and so can the condominiums the 2025 parks plan connects to Westview Park. If a listing mentions an association, ask for the current documents before you write an offer.
New Construction
Building in Cross Plains
The 2025 parks plan says houses and commercial buildings have gone in along U.S. Highway 14, with newer neighborhoods north and south of the highway. The 2018 comprehensive plan described a 2017 spike in single-family permits at Glacier Ridge, and 143 apartment units at Zander Place, Mill Creek, and Esser Place from 2014 to 2016. Listings are usually resales, with new construction in some weeks. When a listing is new, ask about permits, any association, and what the village allows on that lot.
Keep Exploring
School districts near Cross Plains.
Straight Answers
Cross Plains buyer questions, answered.
Which school district serves Cross Plains?
The Village of Cross Plains is in the Middleton-Cross Plains Area School District. The village's December 2018 comprehensive plan places Park Elementary and Glacier Creek Middle School in the village, sends the Park boundary to Glacier Creek, and says district students attend Middleton High School or Clark Street Community School. The district has added schools since 2018, and parts of the Town of Cross Plains are in other districts. Confirm the assigned schools for a specific address with the district.
What kinds of homes are in Cross Plains?
Mostly single-family houses, plus apartments and some condominiums. The 2018 comprehensive plan names Glacier Ridge as a newer single-family neighborhood and names Zander Place, Mill Creek, and Esser Place, three apartment buildings that added 143 units from 2014 to 2016. The 2025 parks plan says Westview Park serves a multi-family and condominium development. Those figures are not a count of homes on the market today.
Is Cross Plains the same as the Town of Cross Plains?
No. The village is the incorporated municipality along U.S. Highway 14. The Town of Cross Plains is the township around it. A listing can say Cross Plains because that is the mailing address even when the house is in the town. The village and parts of the town are not always in the same school district. Ask which municipality a specific house is in.
Is there much new construction in Cross Plains?
The 2025 parks plan describes newer neighborhoods north and south of U.S. Highway 14 and infill along the highway. Most weeks the listings are still resales. A village this size can have a quiet week or several listings at once.
How do people get from Cross Plains to Madison?
Most people drive U.S. Highway 14 east through Middleton toward Madison's west side. The village's 2025 parks plan places Cross Plains about 14 miles west of Madison. Distances on the map are straight-line miles, not driving times.
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