Rogers Lakewood Park
Park
143 acres1.9 mi of trail
Trail 8
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Chris Light · CC BY-SA 3.0BOutdoors
Outdoors in Center Township
Center Township has 1,000 acres of parks, 21 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Rogers Lakewood Park (1.9 mi), Creekside Trails (0.5 mi). 5% of Center Township’s land is conserved, about 930 acres. 14 miles of mapped trail cross Center Township, 0.5 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 65% of U.S. towns · #97 of 593 in Indiana. What drives it
Conserved land
5%
930 acres · of 29.5 sq mi of land
Trails
14 mi
0.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,000 ac
21 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
63%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
43 mi
2.9 mi lanes · 40 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
5
2 beaches · 1 boat launch
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 65% of U.S. towns, #97 of 593 in Indiana. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; park acres per resident rank highest, the share of residents near a park lowest.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Center Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land5% of the land · typical IN town 2% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (14 mi) · IN 0.1 · U.S. 0.4BPark land21 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,000 acres) · IN 10 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home63% 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 65%
LessMore
Indiana towns of 2,500+ (593)Ahead of 84%
Few Indiana towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Center Township’s 5% is ahead of 80% of Indiana towns, while its trails per square mile lead 79% 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 Rogers Lakewood Park, with 1.9 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Creekside Trails
Managed by Valpo Parks
147 acres0.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Forest Park
Park
18 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 20 parks & preserves
Rogers Lakewood Park143 acres · 1.9 mi of trail
DirectionsCreekside Trails147 acres · 0.5 mi of trail · Valpo Parks
DirectionsFairground Park26 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsFoundation Meadows10 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsGlenrose Park South10 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsCentral Park1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsForest Park18 acres
Glenrose Park17 acres
Westside Park16 acres
DirectionsBicentennial Park11 acres
Royal Acres Dog Park7 acres
Kirchoff Park7 acres
DirectionsValplayso7 acres
DirectionsTower Park4 acres
DirectionsTwo Hundred East Park4 acres
Jessee-Pifer Park3 acres
DirectionsWill Park3 acres
DirectionsThomas Jefferson Nature Preserve2 acres
DirectionsBanta Center2 acres
Berkley Park2 acres
Who protects it
930 conserved acres
5% of Center Township’s land. Who manages Center Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city568 ac
Private owners362 ac
Private Park · 362 acState Recreation Area · 325 acLocal Park · 231 acState Conservation Area · 12 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Course at Aberdeen Private Park | Private owners | 251 | Open |
| Creekside Golf Course State Recreation Area | Town or city | 191 | Open |
| Forest Park Golf Course State Recreation Area | Town or city | 115 | Open |
| Valparaiso Country Club Private Park | Private owners | 111 | Open |
| Lakewood (Rogers) Park Local Park | Town or city | 80 | Open |
| Westside Park Local Park | Town or city | 46 | Open |
| Foundation Meadows Park Local Park | Town or city | 34 | Open |
| Fairgrounds Park Local Park | Town or city | 26 | Open |
| Glenrose Park, North Local Park | Town or city | 22 | Open |
| Northside Park / Valparaiso Local Park | Town or city | 14 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
33 places to go in Center Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Center Township
2 beaches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Public pools in Center Township
Pool
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Center Township
Butterfly Meadow & Caterpillar CrossingIn Foundation Meadows
DirectionsWestside Park (historical)In Jessee-Pifer Park
DirectionsPlus 26 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Dog parks in Center Township
1 dog park without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in Center Township
1 boat launch without a name on the map.
Trails & water
3 named trails and 5 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 2.4 mi
Butterfly Park Path0.4 mi
Bogata Connector0.2 mi
Trail 80.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
43 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
2.9 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
40 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
27Baseball
24Tennis
13Basketball
6Tracks
5Soccer
3Softball
3Football
3Pickleball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Center 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 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.5 | 15.2 | 14.9 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.2 |
| High (°F) | 32 | 36 | 47 | 60 | 71 | 80 | 83 | 81 | 75 | 63 | 48 | 36 |
| Rain (in) | 2.2 | 2.0 | 2.3 | 3.6 | 4.4 | 4.4 | 4.0 | 4.4 | 3.4 | 3.6 | 2.7 | 2.2 |
February is the driest month (2.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 4.4 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Center Township →
Next door
Center Township and its neighbors
Center Township has the second most mapped trails of the 4 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Center Township | 5% | 0.5 | 21 | 63% | B |
| Liberty Township | 5% | 0.6 | 63 | 58% | B+ |
| Washington Township | under 1% | 0.1 | 14 | 6% | C− |
| Union Township | 1% | 0.3 | 2 | 12% | 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: Rogers Lakewood Park, 1.9 miles; Creekside Trails, 0.5 miles; Fairground Park, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Center Township is conserved land?
5% 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?
Rogers Lakewood Park and Creekside Trails don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Center Township?
43 miles of bike routes are on the map: 2.9 of painted or protected lanes and 40 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Center Township?
13,721 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Center Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,000 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Center Township have?
Ahead of 65% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #97 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 →