Hoosier National Forest
Managed by United States Forest Service
744 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
B−Outdoors
Outdoors in Center Township
Center Township has 134 acres of parks, 91 for every 1,000 residents
1% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 8% of Center Township’s land is conserved, about 1,948 acres. 4.9 miles of mapped trail cross Center Township, 0.1 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 48% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
8%
1,948 acres · of 39.5 sq mi of land
Trails
4.9 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
134 ac
91 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
1%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
725 ft
Buck Knob
Lakes & rivers
1
2 boat launches
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 48% 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 Center Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land8% of the land · typical IN town 2% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (5 mi) · IN 0.1 · U.S. 0.4CPark land91 acres of park per 1,000 residents (134 acres) · IN 10 · U.S. 13AParks close to home1% 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 48%
LessMore
Few Indiana towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Center Township’s 8% is ahead of 89% 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 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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
1,948 conserved acres
8% 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 resources796 ac
U.S. Forest Service744 ac
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service201 ac
State fish & wildlife128 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits79 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)56 ac
State Conservation Area · 796 acNational Forest · 744 acConservation Easement · 257 acState Recreation Area · 128 acPrivate Conservation · 79 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 201 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hoosier National Forest National Forest | U.S. Forest Service | 744 | Open |
| Bluffs of Beaver Bend State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 556 | Restricted |
| Bluffs Of Beaver Bend Nature Preserve State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 206 | Restricted |
| Hindostan Falls Public Fishing Area State Recreation Area | State fish & wildlife | 128 | Open |
| Plaster Creek Seeps Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 79 | Closed |
| Jug Rock Nature Preserve State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 34 | Restricted |
Things to do
6 places to go in Center Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Boat launches in Center Township
2 boat launches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Waterfalls in Center Township
Hindostan Falls
DirectionsPeaks in Center Township
Buck Knob725 ft elevation
DirectionsHouse Rock623 ft elevation
DirectionsShell Mound614 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
1 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
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 | 9.5 |
| High (°F) | 40 | 44 | 55 | 67 | 76 | 84 | 87 | 86 | 80 | 68 | 55 | 44 |
| Rain (in) | 3.5 | 3.0 | 4.2 | 5.2 | 5.7 | 5.2 | 4.4 | 3.4 | 3.7 | 3.6 | 4.0 | 3.6 |
February is the driest month (3.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 87 °F). 5.7 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 87 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Center Township →
Next door
Center Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Halbert Township16 miMitcheltree Township6.6 miCenter Township4.9 miRutherford Township1.1 miPerry Township0.7 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Center Township | 8% | 0.1 | 91 | 1% | B− |
| Halbert Township | 29% | 0.3 | 240 | 3% | B+ |
| Perry Township | 1% | under 0.1 | 51 | 51% | C |
| Rutherford Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Mitcheltree 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 Center Township
How much of Center Township is conserved land?
8% 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?
Hoosier National Forest and Hindostan Falls don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Center Township?
36,286 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Center Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 868 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Center Township have?
Ahead of 48% 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 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 →