Bulk Downloads

If you are reading this, you are likely a user of the (now former) WisconsinView FTP site for Wisconsin LiDAR and aerial imagery. The FTP site shut down in early March 2025.

We now maintain the archive in an Amazon Web Services-compatible S3 "bucket." While this does require a new tool to access the data, you may still browse and download data much you like did using the former FTP site. We use the phrase "bulk download" to describe the process of browsing and downloading large volumes of data directly from the archive, versus using GeoData@Wisconsin to find and download select datasets for comparatively small areas.

Read our instructions on how to connect to the archive using a FREE desktop download tool.

Why the Change?

For over 20 years, the UW-Madison Space Science and Engineering Center (SSEC) supported access to Wisconsin aerial imagery and LiDAR data by maintaining a public FTP data server for Wisconsin geospatial data consumers. In early 2025, management of the WisconsinView Data Archive transitioned to staff in the Robinson Map Library (RML) and State Cartographer's Office (SCO). This change results from a combination of factors. As the SSEC mission evolved over the years, providing access to land-based geospatial data became a lower priority. That fact, combined with aging hardware that needed to be replaced, and limited staff resources associated with SSEC's WisconsinView project, signaled it was time for a new direction. The SCO and RML are well-positioned to carry on the work of SSEC, and we appreciate everything they and the WisconsinView project have done for the Wisconsin geospatial community since 2004!

Please contact us if you have questions or run into problems accessing the LiDAR and imagery archive.