Clark State Forest
Managed by Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Division of Forestry
5,947 acres22.8 mi of trail
Knobstone TrailClark SF Horse TrailsNew Chapel TrailHead
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trailheadWebsite ↗
B−Outdoors
Outdoors in Finley Township
26% of Finley Township’s land is conserved: 6,639 acres
The biggest trail networks: Clark State Forest (22.8 mi). 23 miles of mapped trail cross Finley Township, 0.6 per square mile of land. 19 acres are parks and preserves, 12 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 55% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
26%
6,639 acres · of 39.4 sq mi of land
Trails
23 mi
0.6 per sq mi of land
Park land
19 ac
12 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
under 1%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
5
What kind of outdoors town is Finley Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Finley Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Finley Township is ahead of 55% of U.S. towns. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Finley Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land26% of the land · typical IN town 2% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.6 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (23 mi) · IN 0.1 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land12 acres of park per 1,000 residents (19 acres) · IN 10 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to home0% 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 55%
LessMore
Few Indiana towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Finley Township’s 26% is ahead of 99% 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 C 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 Clark State Forest, with 22.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Virginia Pine-Chestnut Oak Nature Preserve
Managed by Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Division of Forestry
19 acres0.2 mi of trail
Knobstone Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Who protects it
6,639 conserved acres
26% of Finley Township’s land. Who manages Finley Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources5,968 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)666 ac
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service4 ac
State Resource Management Area · 5,949 acConservation Easement · 671 acState Conservation Area · 19 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 671 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clark State Forest State Resource Management Area | State natural resources | 5,949 | Open |
| Virginia Pine - Chestnut Oak Nature Preserve State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 19 | Open |
Trails & water
3 named trails and 5 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Horses · 10.4 miUnpaved · 14.4 mi
Knobstone Trail12.4 mi
Clark SF Horse Trails8.3 mi
New Chapel TrailHead0.2 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
When to get out
August is the best month for walking in Finley 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 | 14.8 | 14.6 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.0 | 9.5 |
| High (°F) | 40 | 45 | 55 | 67 | 76 | 84 | 86 | 86 | 80 | 68 | 55 | 44 |
| Rain (in) | 3.4 | 3.2 | 4.4 | 5.2 | 5.4 | 4.7 | 4.2 | 3.8 | 3.6 | 3.3 | 3.7 | 4.0 |
February is the driest month (3.2 in) and July the warmest (highs of 86 °F). 5.4 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 86 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Finley Township →
Next door
Finley Township and its neighbors
Finley Township has the second most mapped trails of the 6 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Monroe Township37 miFinley Township23 miGibson Township18 miFranklin Township7.4 miVienna Township3.1 miVernon Township2.1 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Finley Township | 26% | 0.6 | 12 | under 1% | B− |
| Vienna Township | 3% | 0.1 | 7 | 51% | C |
| Vernon Township | 6% | under 0.1 | under 1 | under 1% | D |
| Gibson Township | 20% | 0.3 | 3,463 | 39% | A− |
| Franklin Township | 7% | 0.2 | under 1 | under 1% | C− |
| Monroe Township | 24% | 0.7 | 23 | 1% | B |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Finley Township
Where can I hike in Finley Township?
The longest trail networks: Clark State Forest, 22.8 miles; Virginia Pine-Chestnut Oak Nature Preserve, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Finley Township is conserved land?
26% 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 Finley Township’s trails?
Clark State Forest and Virginia Pine-Chestnut Oak Nature Preserve don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Finley Township?
38,515 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Finley Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 6,011 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Finley Township have?
Ahead of 55% 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 Finley 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 →