Lincoln State Park
Managed by INDNR
1,709 acres13.3 mi of trail
Trail 2Trail 4Trail 1Trail 6+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Clay Township
Clay Township has 1,736 acres of parks, 601 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Lincoln State Park (13.3 mi). 1% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 8% of Clay Township’s land is conserved, about 1,838 acres.
Ahead of 66% of U.S. towns · #89 of 593 in Indiana. What drives it
Conserved land
8%
1,838 acres · of 36.4 sq mi of land
Trails
21 mi
0.6 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,736 ac
601 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
1%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.0 mi
1.0 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
5
1 beach · 2 boat launches
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 66% of U.S. towns, #89 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 land8% of the land · typical IN town 2% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.6 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (21 mi) · IN 0.1 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land601 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,736 acres) · IN 10 · U.S. 13A+Parks 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 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 Clay Township’s 8% is ahead of 89% of Indiana towns, while its trails per square mile lead 85% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A. 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 Lincoln State Park, with 13.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
1,838 conserved acres
8% of Clay Township’s land. Who manages Clay Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State parks1,720 ac
National Park Service112 ac
State natural resources10 ac
State Park · 1,601 acState Conservation Area · 129 acHistoric or Cultural Area · 112 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lincoln State Park State Park | State parks | 1,591 | Open |
| Lincoln's (Sarah) Woods Nature Preserve State Conservation Area | State parks | 129 | Open |
| Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial Historic or Cultural Area | National Park Service | 112 | Restricted |
| Lincoln State Park (addition) State Park | State natural resources | 10 | Open |
Things to do
15 places to go in Clay Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Clay Township
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Clay Township
6 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Clay Township
2 boat launches without a name on the map.
Picnic areas in Clay Township
2 picnic areas without a name on the map.
Campgrounds in Clay Township
Buckhorn Primitive Campground/ Youth Tent AreaIn Lincoln State Park
DirectionsGobbler's Run Non-electric CampgroundIn Lincoln State Park
DirectionsLake Lincoln CampgroundIn Lincoln State Park
DirectionsLincoln State Park campground gatehouseIn Lincoln State Park
DirectionsTrails & water
9 named trails and 5 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Trail 22.8 mi
Trail 42.6 mi
Trail 11.9 mi
Trail 61.6 mi
Trail 31.2 mi
Trail 51.0 mi
Firetower Trail0.5 mi
Trail of the Twelve Stones0.3 mi
Lincoln Boyhood Trail0.2 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
1.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.0 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The walking year 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) | 9.8 | 10.7 | 11.8 | 13.1 | 14.2 | 14.8 | 14.6 | 13.6 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.1 | 9.5 |
| High (°F) | 42 | 47 | 56 | 68 | 77 | 85 | 87 | 87 | 81 | 70 | 56 | 46 |
| Rain (in) | 3.6 | 3.4 | 4.7 | 5.2 | 5.4 | 4.8 | 4.2 | 3.0 | 3.6 | 3.7 | 4.0 | 4.2 |
August is the driest month (3.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 87 °F). 5.4 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 87 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Clay Township →
Next door
Clay Township and its neighbors
Clay Township has the most mapped trails of the 6 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Clay Township21 miSanta Claus9.0 miCarter Township4.3 miHarrison Township2.6 miHammond Township2.2 miJackson Township0.9 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clay Township | 8% | 0.6 | 601 | 1% | B+ |
| Jackson Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Carter Township | under 1% | 0.1 | 12 | 65% | C |
| Harrison Township | 1% | under 0.1 | 12 | 22% | C− |
| Hammond Township | 5% | 0.1 | 13 | 44% | C+ |
| Santa Claus | under 1% | 1.4 | 15 | 13% | C+ |
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: Lincoln State Park, 13.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Clay 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 Clay Township’s trails?
Lincoln State Park doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Clay Township?
1.0 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.0 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Clay Township?
2,907 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Clay Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,736 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Clay Township have?
Ahead of 66% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #89 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 →