Cedar Lake Marsh Fish and Wildlife Area
Nature preserve
158 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Steve Shook · CC BY 2.0COutdoors
Outdoors in Cedar Lake
Cedar Lake has 83 acres of parks, 5.4 for every 1,000 residents
4% of Cedar Lake’s land is conserved, about 270 acres. 66% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 29% of U.S. towns · #342 of 593 in Indiana. What drives it
Conserved land
4%
270 acres · of 9.5 sq mi of land
Trails
0.0 mi
0.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
83 ac
5.4 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
66%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.8 mi
0.8 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
2
1 beach
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Cedar Lake have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Cedar Lake is ahead of 29% of U.S. towns, #342 of 593 in Indiana. Conserved land holds the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
C
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Cedar Lake’s overall grade.
Conserved land4% of the land · typical IN town 2% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (0 mi) · IN 0.1 · U.S. 0.4DPark land5.4 acres of park per 1,000 residents (83 acres) · IN 10 · U.S. 13CParks close to home66% 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 29%
LessMore
Indiana towns of 2,500+ (593)Ahead of 42%
Few Indiana towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Cedar Lake’s 4% is ahead of 77% of Indiana towns, while its trails per square mile lead 6% of them.
Water is 13% of Cedar Lake’s area (1 of 11 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 4%.
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.
E. Hanover Park
Managed by Cedar Lake Parks & Rec Department
16 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 5 parks & preserves
Cedar Lake Marsh Fish and Wildlife Area158 acres
E. Hanover Park16 acres · Cedar Lake Parks & Rec Department
Centennial Playground11 acres
Directions137th Avenue Park11 acres
DirectionsPotawatomi Park2 acres
Who protects it
270 conserved acres
4% of Cedar Lake’s land. Water is left out: Cedar Lake has 9.5 square miles of land and 1.4 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Cedar Lake’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Private owners218 ac
County38 ac
Town or city12 ac
State fish & wildlife1 ac
Private Park · 218 acLocal Park · 50 acState Recreation Area · 1 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monastery Cedar Lake Golf Club Private Park | Private owners | 123 | Open |
| South Shore Country Club Private Park | Private owners | 95 | Open |
| Lemon Lake County Park Local Park | County | 38 | Open |
| Onehundredthirtyseventh Ave. Park Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| Havenwood Park Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| Cedar Lake Public Access Site State Recreation Area | State fish & wildlife | 1 | Open |
Things to do
2 places to go in Cedar Lake
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Cedar Lake
Ceadar Lake Beach
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Cedar Lake
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
2 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.8 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.8 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
9Tennis
3Basketball
3Baseball
1Tracks
1Soccer
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →2 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
When to get out
The best walking months in Cedar Lake: 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 | 76 | 64 | 49 | 37 |
| Rain (in) | 2.3 | 2.0 | 2.4 | 3.7 | 4.3 | 4.6 | 4.5 | 4.1 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 2.8 | 2.2 |
February is the driest month (2.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 4.6 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Cedar Lake →
Next door
Cedar Lake and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Center Township9.0 miWest Creek Township7.0 miCedar Creek Township4.8 miHanover Township0.6 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 Lake | 4% | under 0.1 | 5 | 66% | C |
| Cedar Creek Township | 1% | 0.1 | 45 | 41% | C |
| West Creek Township | 2% | 0.1 | under 1 | 33% | C− |
| Hanover Township | 1% | under 0.1 | 3 | 49% | C− |
| Center Township | 4% | 0.2 | 29 | 63% | B |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Cedar Lake
How much of Cedar Lake is conserved land?
4% 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 Lake’s trails?
Cedar Lake Marsh Fish and Wildlife Area and E. Hanover Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Cedar Lake?
0.8 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.8 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Cedar Lake?
4,623 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Cedar Lake or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 83 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Cedar Lake have?
Ahead of 29% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #342 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 Lake 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 →