Selmier State Forest
Nature preserve
352 acres5 mi of trail
Self-Guided TrailWhite Pine TrailBig Woods TrailWalnut Trail+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Center Township
Center Township has 21 miles of mapped trails, 0.8 for every square mile of land
The biggest trail networks: Selmier State Forest (5 mi), The Quarry Adventure (3 mi), Calli Nature Preserve (2.3 mi). 146 acres are parks and preserves, 18 per 1,000 residents. 4% of Center Township’s land is conserved, about 612 acres.
Ahead of 66% of U.S. towns · #91 of 593 in Indiana. What drives it
Conserved land
4%
612 acres · of 25.0 sq mi of land
Trails
21 mi
0.8 per sq mi of land
Park land
146 ac
18 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
61%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.1 mi
0.1 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
2
What kind of outdoors town is Center Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Center Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Center Township is ahead of 66% of U.S. towns, #91 of 593 in Indiana. Trail miles hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Center Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land4% of the land · typical IN town 2% · U.S. 4%B−Trails0.8 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (21 mi) · IN 0.1 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land18 acres of park per 1,000 residents (146 acres) · IN 10 · U.S. 13BParks close to home61% 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 66%
LessMore
Indiana towns of 2,500+ (593)Ahead of 85%
Few Indiana towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Center Township’s 4% is ahead of 72% of Indiana towns, while its trails per square mile lead 92% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B to B+. 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 Selmier State Forest, with 5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
The Quarry Adventure
Park
158 acres3 mi of trail
Quarry Rim TrailCanyon TrailMeadow TrailDevil's Tongue Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Calli Nature Preserve
Nature preserve
138 acres2.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 8 parks & preserves
Selmier State Forest352 acres · 5 mi of trail
DirectionsThe Quarry Adventure158 acres · 3 mi of trail
Calli Nature Preserve138 acres · 2.3 mi of trail
DirectionsTripton Park43 acres · 1.7 mi of trail
DirectionsNorth Vernon Park33 acres · 0.8 mi of trail
DirectionsMuscatatuck County Park4 acres
Walnut Street Park1 acres
DirectionsStellar Plaza1 acres · City of North Vernon
DirectionsWho protects it
612 conserved acres
4% of Center Township’s land. Who manages Center Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources592 ac
Town or city83 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits53 ac
State Resource Management Area · 350 acState Conservation Area · 175 acConservation Easement · 120 acLocal Park · 83 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 4 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 3 of 10 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Selmier State Forest State Resource Management Area | State natural resources | 350 | Open |
| Violet And Louis J. Calli Sr. Nature Preserve State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 121 | Restricted |
| Ratcliff Forest State Conservation Area | Land trusts & nonprofits | 53 | Open |
| Tripton Park Local Park | Town or city | 51 | Open |
| North Vernon City Park Local Park | Town or city | 27 | Open |
| Muscatatuck Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Mini Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
9 places to go in Center Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Center Township
Saint Mary's School Playground
DirectionsWalnut Street Playground
DirectionsPlus 5 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Picnic areas in Center Township
1 picnic area without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Campgrounds in Center Township
Deer Creek Campground
DirectionsTrails & water
13 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 1.2 mi
Quarry Rim Trail1.2 mi
Self-Guided Trail0.9 mi
Canyon Trail0.8 mi
Meadow Trail0.6 mi
White Pine Trail0.5 mi
Big Woods Trail0.5 mi
Walnut Trail0.4 mi
Cabin Trail0.4 mi
Devil's Tongue Trail0.4 mi
Jennings County Public Library Walking Path0.3 mi
3 more trails
Powerline Trail
0.3 miRubicon Trail
0.1 miRecreation Hall Loop
0.1 miLakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.1 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.1 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
12Soccer
11Baseball
8Tennis
7Basketball
4Softball
3Football
1Skate park
1Pickleball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
August is the best month for walking in Center 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) | 9.7 | 10.7 | 11.8 | 13.2 | 14.3 | 14.9 | 14.6 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.0 | 9.4 |
| High (°F) | 39 | 44 | 54 | 66 | 75 | 83 | 86 | 85 | 79 | 68 | 54 | 43 |
| Rain (in) | 3.5 | 3.0 | 4.1 | 5.0 | 5.4 | 5.2 | 4.5 | 3.9 | 3.2 | 3.3 | 3.7 | 3.7 |
February is the driest month (3.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 86 °F). 5.4 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Center Township →
Next door
Center Township and its neighbors
Center Township has the most mapped trails of the 6 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Center Township21 miNorth Vernon10 miVernon Township9.7 miCampbell Township3.1 miSpencer Township2.7 miGeneva Township2.3 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Center Township | 4% | 0.8 | 18 | 61% | B+ |
| Vernon Township | 21% | 0.3 | 95 | 25% | B+ |
| Campbell Township | 8% | 0.1 | under 1 | under 1% | C− |
| Spencer Township | 10% | 0.1 | under 1 | 2% | C− |
| North Vernon | 2% | 1.3 | 13 | 73% | B |
| Geneva Township | under 1% | under 0.1 | 27 | 33% | C− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Center Township
Where can I hike in Center Township?
The longest trail networks: Selmier State Forest, 5 miles; The Quarry Adventure, 3 miles; Calli Nature Preserve, 2.3 miles; Tripton Park, 1.7 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Center Township 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 Center Township’s trails?
Selmier State Forest and The Quarry Adventure don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Center Township?
0.1 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.1 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Center Township?
1,066 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Center Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 496 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Center Township have?
Ahead of 66% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #91 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 Center 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 →