Touch the Earth Natural Area
Nature preserve
105 acres2.6 mi of trail
Lenape TrailShawnee Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
C+Outdoors
Outdoors in Harrison Township
Harrison Township has 131 acres of parks, 30 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Touch the Earth Natural Area (2.6 mi), Tangeman Woods (1.1 mi). 37% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 8.2 miles of mapped trail cross Harrison Township, 0.4 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 44% of U.S. towns · #245 of 593 in Indiana. What drives it
Conserved land
1%
130 acres · of 23.3 sq mi of land
Trails
8.2 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
131 ac
30 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
37%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
3.7 mi
0.4 mi lanes · 3.2 mi paths
Highest peak
1,014 ft
Taylor Hill
Lakes & rivers
8
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Harrison Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Harrison Township is ahead of 44% of U.S. towns, #245 of 593 in Indiana. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
C+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Harrison Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land1% of the land · typical IN town 2% · U.S. 4%CTrails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (8 mi) · IN 0.1 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land30 acres of park per 1,000 residents (131 acres) · IN 10 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home37% 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 44%
LessMore
Indiana towns of 2,500+ (593)Ahead of 59%
Few Indiana towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Harrison Township’s 1% is ahead of 40% 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 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 Touch the Earth Natural Area, with 2.6 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Tangeman Woods
Nature preserve
31 acres1.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Who protects it
130 conserved acres
1% of Harrison Township’s land. Who manages Harrison Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits121 ac
Town or city10 ac
State Conservation Area · 121 acLocal Park · 10 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Touch the Earth State Conservation Area | Land trusts & nonprofits | 91 | Open |
| Tangeman Woods State Conservation Area | Land trusts & nonprofits | 28 | Open |
| Oakbrook Park Local Park | Town or city | 10 | Open |
| Marshall State Conservation Area | Land trusts & nonprofits | 2 | Restricted |
Things to do
4 places to go in Harrison Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Harrison Township
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Peaks in Harrison Township
Taylor Hill1,014 ft elevation
DirectionsPatterson Hill981 ft elevation
DirectionsDowell Hill965 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
2 named trails and 8 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Lenape Trail1.3 mi
Shawnee Trail0.6 mi
Biking & sports
3.7 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.4 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
3.2 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
4Pickleball
4Tennis
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
August is the best month for walking in Harrison 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 | 14.9 | 14.7 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.0 | 9.4 |
| High (°F) | 38 | 42 | 53 | 65 | 74 | 82 | 85 | 84 | 79 | 67 | 53 | 42 |
| Rain (in) | 3.4 | 2.8 | 3.8 | 4.8 | 5.2 | 5.0 | 4.4 | 3.6 | 3.3 | 3.6 | 3.6 | 3.6 |
February is the driest month (2.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 85 °F). 5.2 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Harrison Township →
Next door
Harrison 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harrison Township | 1% | 0.4 | 30 | 37% | C+ |
| Columbus Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Columbus | 2% | 0.7 | 9 | 57% | B− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Harrison Township
Where can I hike in Harrison Township?
The longest trail networks: Touch the Earth Natural Area, 2.6 miles; Tangeman Woods, 1.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Harrison 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 Harrison Township’s trails?
Touch the Earth Natural Area and Tangeman Woods don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Harrison Township?
3.7 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.4 of painted or protected lanes and 3.2 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Harrison Township?
29,435 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Harrison Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 131 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Harrison Township have?
Ahead of 44% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #245 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 Harrison 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 →