Edna W. Spurgeon Woodland Reserve
Nature preserve
67 acres1.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
COutdoors
Outdoors in Elkhart Township
Few parks or trails are on the map in Elkhart Township
The biggest trail networks: Edna W. Spurgeon Woodland Reserve (1.2 mi). 11% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 5% of Elkhart Township’s land is conserved, about 1,092 acres.
Ahead of 26% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
5%
1,092 acres · of 35.4 sq mi of land
Trails
1.2 mi
0.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
18 ac
9.9 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
11%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
1,024 ft
Diamond Hill
Lakes & rivers
3
1 boat launch
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Elkhart Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Elkhart Township is ahead of 26% of U.S. towns. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
C
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Elkhart Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land5% of the land · typical IN town 2% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · IN 0.1 · U.S. 0.4C−Park land9.9 acres of park per 1,000 residents (18 acres) · IN 10 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to home11% 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 26%
LessMore
Few Indiana towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Elkhart Township’s 5% is ahead of 79% of Indiana towns, while its trails per square mile lead 27% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C+. 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 Edna W. Spurgeon Woodland Reserve, with 1.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
1,092 conserved acres
5% of Elkhart Township’s land. Who manages Elkhart Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State fish & wildlife519 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits397 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)176 ac
State Conservation Area · 864 acConservation Easement · 176 acPrivate Conservation · 49 acState Recreation Area · 3 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 176 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mallard Roost Wetland Conservation Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 464 | Restricted |
| Hammer (Art) Wetlands Nature Preserve State Conservation Area | Land trusts & nonprofits | 284 | Closed |
| Spurgeon (Edna W.) Nature Preserve State Conservation Area | Land trusts & nonprofits | 64 | Closed |
| Rome City Wetland Conservation Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 50 | Restricted |
| Hammer (Art) Wetlands Addition Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 49 | Closed |
| William Malle Memorial Public Access Site State Recreation Area | State fish & wildlife | 3 | Open |
| West Lakes (Elkhart) Conservation Inc Tract State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 2 | Open |
Things to do
3 places to go in Elkhart Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Boat launches in Elkhart Township
1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Peaks in Elkhart Township
Diamond Hill1,024 ft elevation
DirectionsThe Knobs958 ft elevation · In Edna W. Spurgeon Woodland Reserve
DirectionsTrails & water
3 lakes & rivers
Lakes & 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
2Baseball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
September is the best month for walking in Elkhart 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) | 9.5 | 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 | 37 |
| Rain (in) | 2.4 | 1.9 | 2.2 | 3.6 | 4.1 | 4.0 | 3.9 | 3.8 | 3.1 | 3.2 | 2.9 | 2.4 |
February is the driest month (1.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 4.1 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Elkhart Township →
Next door
Elkhart Township and its neighbors
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elkhart Township | 5% | under 0.1 | 10 | 11% | C |
| York Township | 4% | 0.1 | under 1 | under 1% | D |
| Orange Township | 3% | 0.2 | 46 | 37% | B− |
| Clearspring Township | 1% | 0.1 | 55 | 24% | C |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Elkhart Township
Where can I hike in Elkhart Township?
The longest trail networks: Edna W. Spurgeon Woodland Reserve, 1.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Elkhart 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 Elkhart Township’s trails?
Edna W. Spurgeon Woodland Reserve doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Elkhart Township?
4,779 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Elkhart Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 18 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Elkhart Township have?
Ahead of 26% 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 Elkhart 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 →