Bradford Woods Nature Reserve
Managed by Indiana University
1,063 acres1.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Landers, Franklin-Black and Adams Farm · Photo: Nyttend · Public domainCOutdoors
Outdoors in Clay Township
12% of Clay Township’s land is conserved: 2,386 acres
The biggest trail networks: Bradford Woods Nature Reserve (1.1 mi), Fred and Dorothy Meyer Nature Preserve (0.9 mi). 4% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 28 acres are parks and preserves, 6.6 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 31% of U.S. towns · #330 of 593 in Indiana. What drives it
Conserved land
12%
2,386 acres · of 30.0 sq mi of land
Trails
2.4 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
28 ac
6.6 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
4%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
814 ft
Robb Hill
Lakes & rivers
6
What kind of outdoors town is Clay Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Clay Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Clay Township is ahead of 31% of U.S. towns, #330 of 593 in Indiana. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
C
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Clay Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land12% of the land · typical IN town 2% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (2 mi) · IN 0.1 · U.S. 0.4CPark land6.6 acres of park per 1,000 residents (28 acres) · IN 10 · U.S. 13C+Parks close to home4% 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 31%
LessMore
Indiana towns of 2,500+ (593)Ahead of 44%
Few Indiana towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Clay Township’s 12% is ahead of 95% 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 D 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 Bradford Woods Nature Reserve, with 1.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Fred and Dorothy Meyer Nature Preserve
Nature preserve
68 acres0.9 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Who protects it
2,386 conserved acres
12% of Clay Township’s land. Who manages Clay Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Other state land2,358 ac
State fish & wildlife16 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits12 ac
State Resource Management Area · 2,358 acState Recreation Area · 16 acState Conservation Area · 12 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bradford Woods State Resource Management Area | Other state land | 2,358 | Restricted |
| Martinsville (Sycamore Creek) Public Fishing Area State Recreation Area | State fish & wildlife | 16 | Open |
| Shalom Woods State Conservation Area | Land trusts & nonprofits | 12 | Open |
Things to do
1 places to go in Clay Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Peaks in Clay Township
Robb Hill814 ft elevation · In Bradford Woods Nature Reserve
DirectionsTrails & water
6 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
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
August is the best month for walking in Clay 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 | 14.7 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 9.9 | 9.4 |
| High (°F) | 36 | 41 | 52 | 64 | 74 | 82 | 85 | 84 | 78 | 66 | 52 | 41 |
| Rain (in) | 3.1 | 2.5 | 3.5 | 4.5 | 4.9 | 5.2 | 4.3 | 3.3 | 3.2 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.1 |
February is the driest month (2.5 in) and July the warmest (highs of 85 °F). 5.2 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Clay Township →
Next door
Clay Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Washington Township32 miJefferson Township8.2 miFoxcliff Estates5.4 miMadison Township5.3 miGreen Township2.9 miBrown Township2.7 miClay Township2.4 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clay Township | 12% | 0.1 | 7 | 4% | C |
| Washington Township | 14% | 0.6 | 9 | 52% | B |
| Green Township | under 1% | 0.1 | 4 | under 1% | D |
| Brown Township | 1% | 0.1 | 13 | 51% | C |
| Madison Township | under 1% | 0.2 | under 1 | under 1% | D |
| Foxcliff Estates | under 1% | 2.6 | 3 | 75% | C+ |
| Jefferson Township | 3% | 0.2 | under 1 | under 1% | D |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Clay Township
Where can I hike in Clay Township?
The longest trail networks: Bradford Woods Nature Reserve, 1.1 miles; Fred and Dorothy Meyer Nature Preserve, 0.9 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Clay Township is conserved land?
12% 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 Clay Township’s trails?
Bradford Woods Nature Reserve and Fred and Dorothy Meyer Nature Preserve don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Clay Township?
7,552 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Clay Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 28 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Clay Township have?
Ahead of 31% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #330 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 Clay 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 →