Facilities & Grounds

Ashland is the county seat and the largest city in the region. Consequently, it offers a broad range of community facilities and services that serve the residents of Ashland as well as people throughout the region. These facilities and services contribute greatly to the quality of life in Ashland. 

Ashland City Hall – 601 Main St W

The City Hall is located in a historically significant brownstone building on Main Street. It houses the Council Chambers and other City offices, including:

• Mayor's Office
• Administration
• City Clerk's Office
• Finance
• Planning & Zoning
• Treasurer

Public Works – 2020 6th St E

Public Works houses the Engineering Department, Streets Division, and Water and Wastewater Division.

Police Department – 414 11th Ave W

The Ashland Police Department, historically located at the 3rd floor of City Hall, is now located in a recently constructed building. 

Fire Protection & Emergency Medical Services – 215 6th St E

The Ashland Fire Department provides fire protection and emergency services for the City of Ashland and surrounding townships. 

Library – Currently operating out of 618 Beaser Ave during construction of library building

Ashland’s Vaughn Library has a long and significant history. Emeline Vaughn gave the library to the City as a gift in 1888. The library has been housed in the same historically significant building at the corner of Vaughn Avenue and West Main Street ever since.

Marina & Airport

The Ashland Marina and the John F. Kennedy Memorial Airport are valuable community facilities.

Bretting Community Center – 400 4th Ave W

The City’s Leisure Services Program, administered by the Parks and Rec Department, offers many programs and activities for people of all ages. The Bretting Community Center, which was constructed in 2000, provides a gymnasium, game room, and gymnastics room. It receives approximately 3,000 registrations for classes and activities each year. The Center is also used to host community events.

Parks, Recreation, & Museums

Ashland has 22 parks that total roughly 216 acres and offer a variety of recreational opportunities. The park system includes small pocket parks in the central business district, waterfront parks with beaches, swimming, and picnic facilities, parks with athletic fields for organized sports, and a large passive recreation, nature-oriented park. 

Two City parks have camping facilities. Kreher Park has 36 sites for recreational vehicles and Prentice Park has 9 sites for recreational vehicles and ten sites for tent camping. The Parks Department is responsible for maintaining all parks in the City as well as the City’s Waterfront Trail and Fifth Street Corridor Trail. 

In addition to the City’s park system, there are several other notable recreation opportunities in the City. Chequamegon Bay Golf Course is an 18-hole championship golf course that is open to the public, but owned and operated by the Elks organization. Chequamegon Bay provides excellent year-round fishing opportunities. And the Tri-County Corridor Trail (in addition to the City’s trails) provides recreation opportunities for snowmobiling, bicycling and hiking.

Ashland’s Historical Society Museum is located in the downtown area. The City also has a popular mural walk in the downtown area that depicts the history of Ashland. The Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center is a museum and interpretive center located just west of Ashland.