McCloud Nature Park
Park
221 acres7.3 mi of trail
Sycamore Bend TrailRed-Tailed Ridge TrailPrairie View TrailWoodland Way Trail+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
C+Outdoors
Outdoors in Eel River Township
Eel River Township has 249 acres of parks, 125 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: McCloud Nature Park (7.3 mi). 8% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 1% of Eel River Township’s land is conserved, about 339 acres.
Ahead of 39% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
1%
339 acres · of 42.4 sq mi of land
Trails
7.8 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
249 ac
125 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
8%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
3
1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Eel River Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Eel River Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Eel River Township is ahead of 39% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
C+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Eel River Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land1% of the land · typical IN town 2% · U.S. 4%CTrails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (8 mi) · IN 0.1 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land125 acres of park per 1,000 residents (249 acres) · IN 10 · U.S. 13AParks close to home8% 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 39%
LessMore
Few Indiana towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Eel River Township’s 1% is ahead of 46% of Indiana towns, while its trails per square mile lead 57% 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 McCloud Nature Park, with 7.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
339 conserved acres
1% of Eel River Township’s land. Who manages Eel River Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Joint227 ac
Private owners62 ac
Other state land34 ac
Town or city15 ac
Conservation Easement · 227 acPrivate Park · 62 acRecreation or Education Easement · 34 acLocal Park · 15 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 262 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 5 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tomahawk Hills Golf Club Private Park | Private owners | 62 | Open |
| Pleasant Acres Nature Park Local Park | Town or city | 15 | Open |
Things to do
6 places to go in Eel River Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Eel River Township
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Eel River Township
1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Scenic views in Eel River Township
3 scenic views without a name on the map.
Trails & water
12 named trails and 3 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Sycamore Bend Trail0.9 mi
Red-Tailed Ridge Trail0.8 mi
Prairie View Trail0.8 mi
Woodland Way Trail0.5 mi
Paw Paw Pathway Trail0.5 mi
Whitetail Ravine Trail0.4 mi
Small Mouth Run Trail0.4 mi
Barred Owl Trail0.2 mi
Acorn Pass Trail0.2 mi
Big Walnut Crossing Trail0.2 mi
2 more trails
Coyote Ridge Trail
0.2 miFox Chase Trail
0.2 miLakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Courts & fields
3Baseball
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
August is the best month for walking in Eel River 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) | 9.6 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 13.2 | 14.4 | 15.0 | 14.7 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 9.9 | 9.4 |
| High (°F) | 34 | 39 | 50 | 63 | 73 | 81 | 83 | 82 | 77 | 65 | 51 | 39 |
| Rain (in) | 2.9 | 2.4 | 3.2 | 4.3 | 4.8 | 5.0 | 4.5 | 3.4 | 3.3 | 3.4 | 3.5 | 2.8 |
February is the driest month (2.4 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 5.0 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Eel River Township →
Next door
Eel River Township and its neighbors
Eel River Township has the 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eel River Township | 1% | 0.2 | 125 | 8% | C+ |
| Jackson Township | under 1% | 0.1 | 19 | 55% | C |
| Union Township | under 1% | under 0.1 | 2 | 29% | D |
| Jackson 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 Eel River Township
Where can I hike in Eel River Township?
The longest trail networks: McCloud Nature Park, 7.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Eel River Township is conserved land?
1% 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 Eel River Township’s trails?
McCloud Nature Park doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Eel River Township?
2,106 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Eel River Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 249 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Eel River Township have?
Ahead of 39% 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 Eel River 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 →