Buckley Homestead County Park
Park
445 acres2.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Nyttend · Public domainCOutdoors
Outdoors in Cedar Creek Township
Cedar Creek Township has 589 acres of parks, 45 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Buckley Homestead County Park (2.1 mi), Freedom Park (0.9 mi). 41% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 4.8 miles of mapped trail cross Cedar Creek Township, 0.1 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 34% of U.S. towns · #301 of 593 in Indiana. What drives it
Conserved land
1%
207 acres · of 60.0 sq mi of land
Trails
4.8 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
589 ac
45 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
41%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
5
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Cedar Creek Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Cedar Creek Township is ahead of 34% of U.S. towns, #301 of 593 in Indiana. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
C
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Cedar Creek Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land1% of the land · typical IN town 2% · U.S. 4%C−Trails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (5 mi) · IN 0.1 · U.S. 0.4CPark land45 acres of park per 1,000 residents (589 acres) · IN 10 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home41% of residents within a half mile of a park · IN 51% · U.S. 72%C+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 34%
LessMore
Indiana towns of 2,500+ (593)Ahead of 49%
Few Indiana towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Cedar Creek Township’s 1% is ahead of 31% of Indiana towns, while its trails per square mile lead 39% 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
The longest trail network is Buckley Homestead County Park, with 2.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Freedom Park
Park
101 acres0.9 mi of trail
freedom park path 1
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Grand Kankakee Marsh
Nature preserve
50 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 7 parks & preserves
Buckley Homestead County Park445 acres · 2.1 mi of trail
DirectionsFreedom Park101 acres · 0.9 mi of trail
Evergreen Park8 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsGrand Kankakee Marsh50 acres
Calumet Astronomy Center6 acres
DirectionsLiberty Park5 acres
DirectionsMoose Park1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
207 conserved acres
1% of Cedar Creek Township’s land. Who manages Cedar Creek Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city118 ac
State fish & wildlife63 ac
County23 ac
Private owners3 ac
Local Park · 142 acState Conservation Area · 63 acPrivate Park · 3 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Freedom Park Local Park | Town or city | 98 | Open |
| Badal Wildlife Habitat Trust Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 63 | Restricted |
| Buckley Homestead County Park Local Park | County | 23 | Open |
| Evergreen Park Local Park | Town or city | 9 | Open |
| Oakland Park Local Park | Town or city | 7 | Open |
| Liberty Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| South Shore Country Club Private Park | Private owners | 3 | Open |
| Old Town Square Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
6 places to go in Cedar Creek Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Cedar Creek Township
6 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
1 named trail and 5 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 0.5 miHorses · 2.4 miUnpaved · 0.5 mi
freedom park path 10.5 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Courts & fields
6Baseball
4Basketball
2Football
1Tennis
1Soccer
1Tracks
1Softball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →6 places on the National Register
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.
Buckley HomesteadBuilding · listed 1984
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Cedar Creek Township: April and September
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) | 9.5 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.5 | 15.1 | 14.9 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.2 |
| High (°F) | 32 | 36 | 48 | 61 | 72 | 81 | 84 | 82 | 77 | 64 | 49 | 37 |
| Rain (in) | 2.3 | 1.9 | 2.3 | 3.6 | 4.3 | 4.6 | 4.6 | 4.1 | 3.4 | 3.5 | 2.7 | 2.2 |
February is the driest month (1.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 4.6 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Cedar Creek Township →
Next door
Cedar Creek Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Center Township9.0 miLake Township8.7 miWest Creek Township7.0 miLincoln Township6.4 miCedar Creek Township4.8 miEagle Creek Township4.1 miShelby0.0 miCedar Lake0.0 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cedar Creek Township | 1% | 0.1 | 45 | 41% | C |
| West Creek Township | 2% | 0.1 | under 1 | 33% | C− |
| Lincoln Township | 1% | 0.2 | 4 | 3% | C− |
| Shelby | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Eagle Creek Township | 3% | 0.1 | under 1 | under 1% | D |
| Center Township | 4% | 0.2 | 29 | 63% | B |
| Cedar Lake | 4% | under 0.1 | 5 | 66% | C |
| Lake Township | 17% | 0.2 | 181 | 30% | B+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Cedar Creek Township
Where can I hike in Cedar Creek Township?
The longest trail networks: Buckley Homestead County Park, 2.1 miles; Freedom Park, 0.9 miles; Evergreen Park, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Cedar Creek Township is conserved land?
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 Cedar Creek Township’s trails?
Buckley Homestead County Park and Freedom Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Cedar Creek Township?
5,497 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Cedar Creek Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 589 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Cedar Creek Township have?
Ahead of 34% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #301 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 Cedar Creek 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 →