Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Photo: Nyttend · Public domain841 acres are parks and preserves, 258 per 1,000 residents. The biggest trail networks: Morgan-Monroe State Forest (37.3 mi). 39 miles of mapped trail cross Benton Township, 0.7 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 82% of U.S. towns · #30 of 593 in Indiana. What drives it
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Benton Township is ahead of 82% of U.S. towns, #30 of 593 in Indiana. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
Few Indiana towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Benton Township’s 38% is ahead of 100% of Indiana towns, while its trails per square mile lead 90% of them.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
The longest trail network is Morgan-Monroe State Forest, with 37.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
38% of Benton Township’s land. Who manages Benton Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Morgan - Monroe State Forest State Resource Management Area | State natural resources | 12,094 | Open |
| Low Gap Nature Preserve State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 319 | Open |
| Yellowwood State Forest State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 265 | Open |
| Sweedy Hollow Nature Preserve State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 148 | Open |
| Monroe Recreation Area Recreation Management Area | Army Corps of Engineers | 147 | Open |
| Nancy Ralston Forest Preserve State Conservation Area | Land trusts & nonprofits | 98 | Restricted |
| Scarlet Oak Woods State Conservation Area | Land trusts & nonprofits | 57 | Open |
| Campbell State Conservation Area | Land trusts & nonprofits | 25 | Restricted |
| Danny Smith Memorial Park Local Park | Private owners | 21 | Open |
| Lake Lemon Woods State Conservation Area | Land trusts & nonprofits | 16 | Restricted |
2 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
2 boat launches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Plus 1 campground without a name on the map.
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
NOAA’s 1991–2020 normals for the town and the daylight at its latitude. Outlined months have long days, highs of 59 to 86 °F and little rain for the place.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 9.7 | 10.7 | 11.8 | 13.2 | 14.3 | 14.9 | 14.7 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.0 | 9.4 |
| High (°F) | 36 | 41 | 52 | 64 | 74 | 82 | 85 | 84 | 78 | 66 | 52 | 41 |
| Rain (in) | 3.4 | 2.7 | 3.7 | 4.9 | 5.1 | 5.0 | 4.5 | 3.4 | 3.4 | 3.6 | 3.8 | 3.4 |
February is the driest month (2.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 85 °F). 5.1 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Benton Township →
Benton Township has the second most mapped trails of the 6 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Benton Township | 38% | 0.7 | 258 | 22% | A− |
| Bloomington Township | 8% | 0.6 | 44 | 88% | A |
| Salt Creek Township | 52% | 0.7 | 63 | 4% | B+ |
| Jackson Township | 20% | 0.3 | 1,884 | 45% | A− |
| Washington Township | 23% | 0.3 | 71 | 1% | B |
| Washington Township | 51% | 1.4 | 4,155 | 26% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
The longest trail networks: Morgan-Monroe State Forest, 37.3 miles; Bob Klawitter Lake Lemon Woods, 0.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
38% of its land, against a typical 2% for an Indiana town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Morgan-Monroe State Forest and Bob Klawitter Lake Lemon Woods don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
33 miles of bike routes are on the map: 4.5 of off-road paths and 29 of shoulders and shared lanes.
92,556 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Benton Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 13,130 of them inside the town line.
Ahead of 82% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #30 of 593 in Indiana. The grade combines the share of land that is conserved, miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, park acres per 1,000 residents and the share of residents within a half mile of a park. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Conditions, parking and favorite walks from Benton Township neighbors.
Conserved and public land: USGS Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US), service updated July 2026. Parks, trails, playgrounds, beaches and other places: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), map data as of 2026-10-28. Land and water area: Census 2025 Gazetteer. Residents near a park: 2020 Census blocks. National Register: National Park Service. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →