Mentzer Memorial Park
Park
8 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
COutdoors
Outdoors in Franklin Township
Franklin Township has 83 acres of parks, 73 for every 1,000 residents
1.4 miles of mapped trail cross Franklin Township. 26% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 31% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
1%
145 acres · of 34.2 sq mi of land
Trails
1.4 mi
0.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
83 ac
73 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
26%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
5.8 mi
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Franklin Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Franklin Township is ahead of 31% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
C
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Franklin Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land1% of the land · typical IN town 2% · U.S. 4%CTrails0.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · IN 0.1 · U.S. 0.4C−Park land73 acres of park per 1,000 residents (83 acres) · IN 10 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home26% 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 31%
LessMore
Few Indiana towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Franklin Township’s 1% is ahead of 35% of Indiana towns, while its trails per square mile lead 29% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from D 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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Beaver Dam Memorial Park
Park
2 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
145 conserved acres
1% of Franklin Township’s land. Who manages Franklin Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
USDA easements (NRCS)145 ac
Conservation Easement · 145 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 145 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
Things to do
2 places to go in Franklin Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Franklin Township
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Biking & sports
5.8 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
5.8 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
8Tennis
6Baseball
2Soccer
2Football
1Basketball
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 Franklin 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 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.5 | 15.1 | 14.9 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.2 |
| High (°F) | 32 | 36 | 48 | 61 | 72 | 81 | 83 | 81 | 76 | 63 | 49 | 37 |
| Rain (in) | 2.6 | 2.2 | 2.5 | 3.8 | 4.4 | 4.7 | 4.2 | 4.1 | 3.2 | 3.1 | 2.9 | 2.4 |
February is the driest month (2.2 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 4.7 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Franklin Township →
Next door
Franklin 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Franklin Township | 1% | under 0.1 | 73 | 26% | C |
| Seward Township | 1% | under 0.1 | under 1 | 1% | D |
| Henry Township | under 1% | 0.1 | 16 | 48% | C |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Franklin Township
How much of Franklin 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 Franklin Township’s trails?
Mentzer Memorial Park and Beaver Dam Memorial Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Franklin Township?
5.8 miles of bike routes are on the map: 5.8 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Franklin Township?
1,333 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Franklin Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 83 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Franklin Township have?
Ahead of 31% 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 Franklin 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 →