Green's Bluff Nature Preserve
Managed by The Nature Conservancy
987 acres2.4 mi of trail
Dogs usually not allowed
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
B−Outdoors
Outdoors in Clay Township
Clay Township has 1,154 acres of parks, 436 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Green's Bluff Nature Preserve (2.4 mi). 14% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 6% of Clay Township’s land is conserved, about 1,358 acres.
Ahead of 49% of U.S. towns · #201 of 593 in Indiana. What drives it
Conserved land
6%
1,358 acres · of 36.0 sq mi of land
Trails
2.4 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,154 ac
436 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
14%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
2
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 49% of U.S. towns, #201 of 593 in Indiana. 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 Clay Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land6% of the land · typical IN town 2% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (2 mi) · IN 0.1 · U.S. 0.4CPark land436 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,154 acres) · IN 10 · U.S. 13AParks close to home14% of residents within a half mile of a park · IN 51% · U.S. 72%C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 49%
LessMore
Indiana towns of 2,500+ (593)Ahead of 66%
Few Indiana towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Clay Township’s 6% is ahead of 83% of Indiana towns, while its trails per square mile lead 36% 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
The longest trail network is Green's Bluff Nature Preserve, with 2.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
1,358 conserved acres
6% of Clay Township’s land. Who manages Clay Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits1,356 ac
Other state land289 ac
Private Conservation · 1,341 acConservation Easement · 289 acState Conservation Area · 14 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 2 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 3 of 17 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Green'S Bluff Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 1,341 | Open |
| Porter - Owen County State Conservation Area | Land trusts & nonprofits | 14 | Restricted |
Trails & water
2 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
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 | 10.0 | 9.4 |
| High (°F) | 37 | 42 | 53 | 65 | 74 | 82 | 85 | 84 | 78 | 67 | 53 | 41 |
| Rain (in) | 3.4 | 2.6 | 3.6 | 5.0 | 5.1 | 5.0 | 4.6 | 3.4 | 3.5 | 3.7 | 3.9 | 3.3 |
February is the driest month (2.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 85 °F). 5.1 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Clay Township →
Next door
Clay Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Washington Township13 miRichland Township11 miFranklin Township4.3 miClay Township2.4 miBeech Creek Township2.3 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clay Township | 6% | 0.1 | 436 | 14% | B− |
| Franklin Township | under 1% | 0.1 | 27 | 2% | C− |
| Richland Township | 2% | 0.3 | 31 | 34% | B− |
| Beech Creek Township | 1% | under 0.1 | 101 | 5% | C |
| Washington Township | 7% | 0.3 | 300 | 36% | B+ |
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: Green's Bluff Nature Preserve, 2.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Clay Township is conserved land?
6% 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?
Green's Bluff Nature Preserve doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Clay Township?
11,231 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Clay Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,154 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Clay Township have?
Ahead of 49% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #201 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 →