Ferdinand State Forest
Managed by Indiana Department of Natural Resources
1,070 acres7.9 mi of trail
South ridge Trail (YELLOW)Foxey Hollow Trail (ORANGE)Firetower Trail (RED)Fire Lane 3+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Chris Light at English Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0B−Outdoors
Outdoors in Ferdinand Township
Ferdinand Township has 8.1 miles of mapped trails, 0.2 for every square mile of land
The biggest trail networks: Ferdinand State Forest (7.9 mi). 5% of Ferdinand Township’s land is conserved, about 1,062 acres. 51% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 46% of U.S. towns · #226 of 593 in Indiana. What drives it
Conserved land
5%
1,062 acres · of 37.0 sq mi of land
Trails
8.1 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
41 ac
11 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
51%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
6
1 beach · 2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Ferdinand Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Ferdinand Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Ferdinand Township is ahead of 46% of U.S. towns, #226 of 593 in Indiana. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Ferdinand Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land5% of the land · typical IN town 2% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (8 mi) · IN 0.1 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land11 acres of park per 1,000 residents (41 acres) · IN 10 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to home51% 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 46%
LessMore
Indiana towns of 2,500+ (593)Ahead of 62%
Few Indiana towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Ferdinand Township’s 5% is ahead of 78% of Indiana towns, while its trails per square mile lead 61% 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 Ferdinand State Forest, with 7.9 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
1,062 conserved acres
5% of Ferdinand Township’s land. Who manages Ferdinand Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources1,062 ac
State Resource Management Area · 1,062 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ferdinand State Forest State Resource Management Area | State natural resources | 1,062 | Open |
Things to do
11 places to go in Ferdinand Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Ferdinand Township
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Ferdinand Township
8 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Ferdinand Township
2 boat launches without a name on the map.
Trails & water
10 named trails and 6 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 5.2 miUnpaved · 6.4 mi
South ridge Trail (YELLOW)2.1 mi
Foxey Hollow Trail (ORANGE)1.6 mi
Firetower Trail (RED)1.2 mi
Fire Lane 30.8 mi
Firelane 20.4 mi
Firelane 220.4 mi
Trail to Campground0.3 mi
Kyana Trail (GREEN)0.2 mi
Firelane 40.1 mi
Firelane 50.1 mi
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
6Baseball
5Tennis
2Football
2Soccer
2Beach volleyball
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →4 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Convent Immaculate Conception Historic DistrictBuilding · listed 1983
About itWhen to get out
The walking year in Ferdinand 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 | 10.0 | 9.5 |
| High (°F) | 41 | 46 | 56 | 68 | 76 | 84 | 87 | 86 | 80 | 69 | 56 | 45 |
| Rain (in) | 3.6 | 3.3 | 4.7 | 5.3 | 5.7 | 5.0 | 4.4 | 3.1 | 3.6 | 3.6 | 4.2 | 4.1 |
August is the driest month (3.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 87 °F). 5.7 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 87 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Ferdinand Township →
Next door
Ferdinand Township and its neighbors
Ferdinand Township has the second most mapped trails of the 6 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Clark Township10 miFerdinand Township8.1 miJackson Township4.8 miPatoka Township4.6 miHarrison Township2.6 miCass Township1.8 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ferdinand Township | 5% | 0.2 | 11 | 51% | B− |
| Jackson Township | 2% | 0.1 | 77 | 20% | C+ |
| Cass Township | under 1% | under 0.1 | under 1 | under 1% | D− |
| Harrison Township | 1% | under 0.1 | 12 | 22% | C− |
| Patoka Township | 1% | 0.1 | 15 | 75% | C+ |
| Clark Township | 13% | 0.1 | under 1 | under 1% | C− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Ferdinand Township
Where can I hike in Ferdinand Township?
The longest trail networks: Ferdinand State Forest, 7.9 miles; 18th Street Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Ferdinand 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 Ferdinand Township’s trails?
Ferdinand State Forest and 18th Street Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Ferdinand Township?
27,485 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Ferdinand Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,111 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Ferdinand Township have?
Ahead of 46% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #226 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 Ferdinand 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 →