Clark State Forest
Managed by Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Division of Forestry
770 acres2 mi of trail
Knobstone Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Gibson Township
Gibson Township has 4,925 acres of parks, 3,463 for every 1,000 residents
20% of Gibson Township’s land is conserved, about 6,509 acres. The biggest trail networks: Clark State Forest (2 mi). 39% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 80% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
20%
6,509 acres · of 51.0 sq mi of land
Trails
18 mi
0.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
4,925 ac
3,463 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
39%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
853 ft
Vic Swaim Hill
Lakes & rivers
1
1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Gibson Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Gibson Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Gibson Township is ahead of 80% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Gibson Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land20% of the land · typical IN town 2% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (18 mi) · IN 0.1 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land3,463 acres of park per 1,000 residents (4,925 acres) · IN 10 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home39% 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 80%
LessMore
Few Indiana towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Gibson Township’s 20% is ahead of 98% of Indiana towns, while its trails per square mile lead 73% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B 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 2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
6,509 conserved acres
20% of Gibson Township’s land. Who manages Gibson Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources5,725 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)740 ac
State fish & wildlife92 ac
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service15 ac
State Conservation Area · 4,983 acConservation Easement · 818 acState Resource Management Area · 771 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 755 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jackson-Washington State Forest State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 4,855 | Open |
| Clark State Forest State Resource Management Area | State natural resources | 771 | Open |
| Elk Creek Fish And Wildlife Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 92 | Restricted |
| Indian - Bitter Nature Preserve State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 36 | Open |
Things to do
5 places to go in Gibson Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Boat launches in Gibson Township
1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Peaks in Gibson Township
Vic Swaim Hill853 ft elevation
DirectionsJohnson Knob850 ft elevation
DirectionsCampgrounds in Gibson Township
2 campgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
2 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 14.1 mi
Knobstone Trail14.0 mi
Old Mail Route0.8 mi
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
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Gibson 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 | 14.9 | 14.6 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.0 | 9.5 |
| High (°F) | 40 | 44 | 54 | 66 | 75 | 83 | 86 | 85 | 79 | 68 | 54 | 43 |
| Rain (in) | 3.5 | 3.0 | 4.3 | 5.1 | 5.3 | 4.8 | 4.1 | 3.7 | 3.4 | 3.2 | 3.7 | 3.8 |
February is the driest month (3.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 86 °F). 5.3 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Gibson Township →
Next door
Gibson Township and its neighbors
Gibson Township has the second most mapped trails of the 7 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Finley Township23 miGibson Township18 miMonroe Township14 miFranklin Township7.4 miGrassy Fork Township3.0 miVernon Township2.1 miWashington Township0.9 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gibson Township | 20% | 0.3 | 3,463 | 39% | A− |
| Grassy Fork Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Vernon Township | 6% | under 0.1 | under 1 | under 1% | D |
| Finley Township | 26% | 0.6 | 12 | under 1% | B− |
| Franklin Township | 7% | 0.2 | under 1 | under 1% | C− |
| Washington Township | 2% | under 0.1 | 96 | 32% | C+ |
| Monroe Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Gibson Township
Where can I hike in Gibson Township?
The longest trail networks: Clark State Forest, 2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Gibson Township is conserved land?
20% 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 Gibson 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 Gibson Township?
36,930 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Gibson Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 5,683 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Gibson Township have?
Ahead of 80% 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 Gibson 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 →