Jim Yellig Park
Managed by Town of Santa Claus
21 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial · Photo: Rene Sturgell · CC BY-SA 3.0COutdoors
Outdoors in Carter Township
Carter Township has 39 acres of parks, 12 for every 1,000 residents
4.3 miles of mapped trail cross Carter Township, 0.1 per square mile of land. 65% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 31% of U.S. towns · #327 of 593 in Indiana. What drives it
Conserved land
under 1%
70 acres · of 35.8 sq mi of land
Trails
4.3 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
39 ac
12 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
65%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
4.7 mi
4.7 mi paths
Highest peak
574 ft
Flint Hill
Lakes & rivers
3
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Carter Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Carter Township is ahead of 31% of U.S. towns, #327 of 593 in Indiana. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
C
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Carter Township’s overall grade.
Conserved landunder 1% of the land · typical IN town 2% · U.S. 4%C−Trails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (4 mi) · IN 0.1 · U.S. 0.4CPark land12 acres of park per 1,000 residents (39 acres) · IN 10 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to home65% of residents within a half mile of a park · IN 51% · U.S. 72%B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 31%
LessMore
Indiana towns of 2,500+ (593)Ahead of 45%
Few Indiana towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Carter Township’s under 1% is ahead of 24% of Indiana towns, while its trails per square mile lead 47% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C to C+. 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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Mariah Hill Park
Park
5 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
70 conserved acres
under 1% of Carter Township’s land. Who manages Carter Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
National Park Service70 ac
Historic or Cultural Area · 70 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial Historic or Cultural Area | National Park Service | 70 | Restricted |
Things to do
11 places to go in Carter Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Carter Township
Mariah Hill Park PlaygroundIn Mariah Hill Park
DirectionsPlus 8 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Peaks in Carter Township
Flint Hill574 ft elevation
DirectionsCampgrounds in Carter Township
Sun Outdoors Lake RudolphFee · Sun Outdoors
DirectionsTrails & water
11 named trails and 3 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 1.0 mi
Boyhood Nature Trail0.8 mi
Pro Super Bowl0.3 mi
Lincoln Boyhood Trail0.2 mi
County Road 1750 North0.2 mi
Washington Birthday0.2 mi
Saint Patricks Day0.2 mi
Lincoln Birthday0.2 mi
Trail of the Twelve Stones0.1 mi
Good Friday Boulevard0.1 mi
Ides of March0.1 mi
1 more trails
Groundhog Day
0.1 miLakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
4.7 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
4.7 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
10Baseball
8Tennis
4Basketball
3Soccer
2Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register, one a National Historic Landmark
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 1 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The walking year in Carter 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) | 9.8 | 10.7 | 11.8 | 13.1 | 14.2 | 14.8 | 14.6 | 13.6 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.0 | 9.5 |
| High (°F) | 41 | 46 | 56 | 68 | 77 | 85 | 87 | 87 | 81 | 70 | 56 | 45 |
| Rain (in) | 3.5 | 3.4 | 4.6 | 5.3 | 5.5 | 4.7 | 4.2 | 3.0 | 3.6 | 3.6 | 4.1 | 4.1 |
August is the driest month (3.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 87 °F). 5.5 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 87 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Carter Township →
Next door
Carter Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Clay Township21 miSanta Claus9.0 miCarter Township4.3 miHarrison Township2.6 miCass Township1.8 miPigeon Township1.5 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carter Township | under 1% | 0.1 | 12 | 65% | C |
| Clay Township | 8% | 0.6 | 601 | 1% | B+ |
| Harrison Township | 1% | under 0.1 | 12 | 22% | C− |
| Pigeon Township | 2% | under 0.1 | under 1 | 1% | D |
| Santa Claus | under 1% | 1.4 | 15 | 13% | C+ |
| Cass Township | under 1% | under 0.1 | under 1 | under 1% | D− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Carter Township
How much of Carter Township is conserved land?
under 1% 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 Carter Township’s trails?
Jim Yellig Park and Mariah Hill Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Carter Township?
4.7 miles of bike routes are on the map: 4.7 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Carter Township?
6,869 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Carter Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 39 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Carter Township have?
Ahead of 31% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #327 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.
Trail talk
Conditions, parking and favorite walks from Carter 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 →