Clark State Forest
Managed by Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Division of Forestry
1,356 acres3.4 mi of trail
Knobstone TrailClark SF Horse Trails
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto Leota TrailheadWebsite ↗
C−Outdoors
Outdoors in Franklin Township
7% of Franklin Township’s land is conserved: 1,936 acres
The biggest trail networks: Clark State Forest (3.4 mi). 1 acre is park or preserve, 0.5 per 1,000 residents. 7.4 miles of mapped trail cross Franklin Township, 0.2 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 21% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
7%
1,936 acres · of 44.2 sq mi of land
Trails
7.4 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
1 ac
0.5 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
under 1%
of residents within ½ mile
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 21% 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 Franklin Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land7% of the land · typical IN town 2% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (7 mi) · IN 0.1 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land0.5 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1 acre) · IN 10 · U.S. 13DParks 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 21%
LessMore
Few Indiana towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Franklin Township’s 7% is ahead of 87% of Indiana towns, while its trails per square mile lead 54% of them.
NoteFew parks or trails are mapped in Franklin Township. OpenStreetMap is mapped by volunteers and coverage varies from town to town, so a town with unmapped parks scores low on 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
The longest trail network is Clark State Forest, with 3.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
1,936 conserved acres
7% of Franklin Township’s land. Who manages Franklin Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources1,356 ac
State fish & wildlife598 ac
State Resource Management Area · 1,356 acState Conservation Area · 599 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clark State Forest State Resource Management Area | State natural resources | 1,356 | Open |
| Elk Creek Fish And Wildlife Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 598 | Restricted |
| Jackson-Washington State Forest State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 1 | Open |
Things to do
1 places to go in Franklin Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Campgrounds in Franklin Township
1 campground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
2 named trails
Named trails
Unpaved · 6.4 mi
Knobstone Trail6.3 mi
Clark SF Horse Trails0.4 mi
When to get out
The best walking months in Franklin Township: July and August
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 | 54 | 66 | 75 | 83 | 86 | 85 | 79 | 68 | 55 | 44 |
| Rain (in) | 3.4 | 3.1 | 4.4 | 5.2 | 5.4 | 4.7 | 4.1 | 3.7 | 3.6 | 3.3 | 3.7 | 4.0 |
February is the driest month (3.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 86 °F). 5.4 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Franklin Township →
Next door
Franklin Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Finley Township23 miGibson Township18 miPolk Township8.0 miFranklin Township7.4 miPierce Township1.7 miWashington Township0.9 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Franklin Township | 7% | 0.2 | under 1 | under 1% | C− |
| Polk Township | 9% | 0.2 | under 1 | 3% | C− |
| Washington Township | 2% | under 0.1 | 96 | 32% | C+ |
| Gibson Township | 20% | 0.3 | 3,463 | 39% | A− |
| Finley Township | 26% | 0.6 | 12 | under 1% | B− |
| Pierce Township | 1% | under 0.1 | 3 | 16% | D |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Franklin Township
Where can I hike in Franklin Township?
The longest trail networks: Clark State Forest, 3.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Franklin Township is conserved land?
7% 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?
Clark State Forest doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Franklin Township?
37,445 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Franklin Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,348 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Franklin Township have?
Ahead of 21% 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 →