Meadowood and Madison's southwest side: Raymond Road, Schroeder Road and places to start

How the city describes the area

The Common Council adopted the city's Southwest Area Plan on June 23, 2026. The plan covers about 5,400 acres, bounded on the north by the Beltline and on the east by the City of Fitchburg. It names Greentree, Orchard Ridge, Allied-Dunn's Marsh, Prairie Hills and Meadowood among its neighborhoods, and the city's summary puts the area's population at 37,094.

On history, the plan says growth began in earnest in the 1950s, when annexations totaling more than 1,000 acres allowed Orchard Ridge, Meadowood and parts of Allied-Dunn's Marsh and Greentree to be built. Shopping followed the houses. The plan lists the Meadowood Shopping Center (1963) and Nakoma Plaza (1969), with West Towne Mall (1970) just to the north and Woodman's and other large stores later. Apartments arrived in waves, starting on Allied Drive in the early 1960s.

Meadowood Shopping Center and the Meadowridge Library

The plan names four community resources in the Meadowood Shopping Center on Raymond Road: the Meadowridge Library, the Meadowood Neighborhood Center, the Meadowood Health Partnership and NewBridge Madison. It notes murals on the rear facade.

The Meadowridge Library, 5726 Raymond Rd., lists community rooms that can be combined, a study room and a quiet room. Check its page for hours. See our libraries guide.

The Meadowood Neighborhood Center is run by MSCR in collaboration with the city. MSCR's page describes afterschool programs for youth in grades 1 through 10, a computer lab, printing and copying, adult groups and classes, a food pantry and senior lunches. Schedules change, so check MSCR before you go. The city's list of neighborhood centers also includes Elver Park (1201 McKenna Blvd.) and Theresa Terrace (1409 Theresa Terrace).

Parks and paths

• Meadowood Park, 5800 Thrush Ln.: 3.07 acres with a reservable shelter with electrical outlets, two half basketball courts, a multipurpose field and a playground.
• Raymond Ridge Park, 2138 Muir Field Rd.: 17.28 acres with a basketball court, two multipurpose fields, a softball backstop and a playground.
• Elver Park, 1250 McKenna Blvd., is the area's largest park; our far west side guide covers its year-round features. The plan says about 40 acres were recently added along its southern edge and that a master plan is scheduled to start in 2027.
• Ice Age Junction: Dane County's 554-acre natural resource area east of Verona, which the county says connects Elver Park, Badger Prairie County Park and Verona's Home Town Community Park, with a paved trail and a segment of the Ice Age National Scenic Trail. See our hiking guide.

The plan calls the Southwest Path a major shared-use path. City engineering pages describe resurfacing work on its segments, including a Hammersley Road connector and a stretch reaching the Beltline pedestrian bridge, and the plan proposes extending the Hammersley Road path west to Elver Park. Our biking guide covers routes in general.

Dunn's Marsh

Dunn's Marsh appears in the city's records mainly as a name for a drainage area and a neighborhood. The city lists it as one of its 22 watersheds and, in a study that began after the 2018 storms, has worked on identifying causes of flooding there and ways to reduce it. The Southwest Area Plan describes the Allied-Dunn's Marsh neighborhood as centered on Allied Park, and says flooding is a concern near Dunn's Marsh, where commercial centers and apartments sit beside flood-prone land.

Schroeder Road, McKenna Boulevard and Verona Road

These main streets are shaped by the Beltline. The plan says Schroeder Road has recently seen low-density restaurant sites give way to mid-rise housing, such as Tailor Place Apartments, completed in 2020, and it proposes a safety review of the street. Raymond Road, the plan says, can be a barrier for people on foot, and it lists bump-outs and flashing crossing beacons as short-term fixes.

Verona Road was reconstructed in 2013 and 2014, and the plan says that improved regional traffic flow but made east-west connections harder. The plan also records that WisDOT is studying changes at the Beltline-Verona Road interchange. Plans for these streets are long-term and depend on future budgets.

Getting around

Metro Transit's text descriptions, as of 2026, list Route E on Whitney Way, Raymond Road, Muir Field Road and McKee Road, and Route H on Gammon Road, McKenna Boulevard, Raymond Road and Reetz Road. Route D1 uses Schroeder Road, and Route D2 uses Allied Drive and Verona Road. Route 75 serves Verona Road at peak hours. Check Metro's planner for current schedules, and see our getting around guide.

Places to start on Raymond Road, Schroeder Road, McKenna Boulevard and Verona Road

These are places in our directory on or near those streets. Descriptions come from their directory listings. Hours and menus change, so check with each one.

• Los Atlantes Mexican Restaurant & Bakery: a Mexican restaurant and bakery on Raymond Road serving burritos, tacos and fajitas from 8 a.m.
• Chang Jiang Raymond Road: a Chinese restaurant with online ordering through its own website.
• Copper Top Restaurant: a west-side family restaurant on Schroeder Road with gourmet pancakes, farm-fresh eggs, lunch, dinner and pizza.
• Great Wall: a Chinese restaurant cooking with fresh ingredients, with dine-in, takeout and delivery.
• Vitense Golfland: a family-owned golf center since 1955 with a Toptracer range, mini golf and a lighted par-3 course.
• ATA Madison West: a Raymond Road martial arts school with classes from age 3 and teen and adult classes.
• Synergy Coworking: a social enterprise coworking space on Raymond Road with offices, desks and meeting rooms.
• Atomic Antiques: an antique and vintage shop on Verona Road.
• Elver Park Neighborhood Center: a Wisconsin Youth Company neighborhood center in southwest Madison.
• Greentree-Chapel Hills Park: a 39-acre park with a bike path running to a pond and prairie, a basketball court, a ball field and a sun shelter.