Shades State Park
Managed by Indiana Department of Natural Resources
1,484 acres12.5 mi of trail
Backpack TrailTrail 2Trail 10Trail 7+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
BOutdoors
Outdoors in Brown Township
Brown Township has 1,768 acres of parks, 936 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Shades State Park (12.5 mi). 8% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 5% of Brown Township’s land is conserved, about 1,756 acres.
Ahead of 56% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
5%
1,756 acres · of 53.8 sq mi of land
Trails
14 mi
0.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,768 ac
936 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
8%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
5
1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Brown Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Brown Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Brown Township is ahead of 56% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Brown Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land5% of the land · typical IN town 2% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (14 mi) · IN 0.1 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land936 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,768 acres) · IN 10 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home8% of residents within a half mile of a park · IN 51% · U.S. 72%D
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 56%
LessMore
Few Indiana towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Brown Township’s 5% is ahead of 80% of Indiana towns, while its trails per square mile lead 65% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A−. Trails and many small parks come from OpenStreetMap, mapped by volunteers, so coverage varies from town to town; the half mile is a straight line from each census block, so a river or highway in the way isn’t counted against it.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
The map
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Easements protect land from building but are usually private.© OpenStreetMap contributors · USGS PAD-US
Places to walk
Pick a walk
The longest trail network is Shades State Park, with 12.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
1,756 conserved acres
5% of Brown Township’s land. Who manages Brown Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State parks1,484 ac
Town or city272 ac
State Park · 921 acState Conservation Area · 564 acLocal Park · 272 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shades State Park State Park | State parks | 921 | Open |
| Pine Hills Nature Preserve State Conservation Area | State parks | 563 | Open |
| Lake Wildlife Areaveland Park Local Park | Town or city | 272 | Open |
| Pedestal Rock Nature Preserve State Conservation Area | State parks | 1 | Open |
Things to do
13 places to go in Brown Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Brown Township
3 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Brown Township
1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Waterfalls in Brown Township
Maidenhair Fa llsIn Shades State Park
DirectionsSilver Cascade FallsIn Shades State Park
DirectionsPlus 3 waterfalls without a name on the map.
Scenic views in Brown Township
Prospect PointIn Shades State Park
DirectionsPicnic areas in Brown Township
Hemlock Picnic AreaIn Shades State Park
DirectionsCampgrounds in Brown Township
Shades CampgroundFee · In Shades State Park
DirectionsYouth Tent AreaIn Shades State Park
DirectionsTrails & water
18 named trails and 5 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Backpack Trail1.5 mi
Trail 21.1 mi
Trail 101.1 mi
Trail 70.8 mi
Trail 40.8 mi
Trail 10.7 mi
PH 1 (Turkey Backbone)0.7 mi
Trail 50.7 mi
Trail 80.5 mi
Trail 90.5 mi
8 more trails
County Road 575 South
0.3 miPH4 (Devil's Backbone)
0.2 miTrail 6
0.2 miPH3 (The Slide)
0.2 miTrail 2 (Lover's Leap)
0.2 miPH2 (Millcut Backbone)
0.1 miBackpack Trail / Trail 8
0.1 miTrail 7
0.1 miLakes & rivers tap for directions
When to get out
August is the best month for walking in Brown Township
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) | 9.6 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 13.2 | 14.4 | 15.0 | 14.7 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 9.9 | 9.3 |
| High (°F) | 35 | 39 | 50 | 63 | 74 | 82 | 84 | 83 | 78 | 65 | 51 | 39 |
| Rain (in) | 2.8 | 2.3 | 3.1 | 4.5 | 4.7 | 5.1 | 4.4 | 3.4 | 3.2 | 3.5 | 3.4 | 2.9 |
February is the driest month (2.3 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 5.1 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Brown Township →
Next door
Brown Township and its neighbors
Brown Township has the most mapped trails of the 4 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brown Township | 5% | 0.3 | 936 | 8% | B |
| Ripley Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Union Township | 1% | under 0.1 | 11 | 51% | C− |
| Howard Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Brown Township
Where can I hike in Brown Township?
The longest trail networks: Shades State Park, 12.5 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Brown Township is conserved land?
5% 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.
Are dogs allowed on Brown Township’s trails?
Shades State Park doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Brown Township?
9,197 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Brown Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,768 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Brown Township have?
Ahead of 56% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade. 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.
Trail talk
Conditions, parking and favorite walks from Brown Township neighbors.
Share a tip
Sources
Where this page comes from
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 →