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Ibach HouseIbach House · Photo: Nyttend · Public domain
AOutdoors
Outdoors in Highland

12% of Highland’s land is conserved, and virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park

Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park. 8.2 miles of mapped trail cross Highland, 1.2 per square mile of land. 12% of Highland’s land is conserved, about 522 acres.

Ahead of 94% of U.S. towns · #4 of 593 in Indiana. What drives it

Conserved land
12%
522 acres · of 6.9 sq mi of land
Trails
8.2 mi
1.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
502 ac
21 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
9.2 mi
9.2 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
3

What kind of outdoors town is Highland?

Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.

Land that stays wild12% of the land is conserved; a typical Indiana town, 2%.Parks close to homeVirtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park.A trail town1.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, more than 84% of U.S. towns.
Outdoors grade

How much outdoors does Highland have?

On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Highland is ahead of 94% of U.S. towns, #4 of 593 in Indiana. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of residents near a park ranks highest, park acres per resident lowest.

A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Highland’s overall grade.
Conserved land12% of the land · typical IN town 2% · U.S. 4%A−Trails1.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (8 mi) · IN 0.1 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land21 acres of park per 1,000 residents (502 acres) · IN 10 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to homeVirtually all residents within a half mile of a park · IN 51% · U.S. 72%A+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 94%
LessMore
Indiana towns of 2,500+ (593)#4 of 593

Few Indiana towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Highland’s 12% is ahead of 94% of Indiana towns, while its trails per square mile lead 96% of them.

How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from A 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.

1234
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 Wicker Memorial Park, with 6.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.

Wicker Memorial Park

Park
216 acres6.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗

Carlson Oxbow Park

Managed by Hammond Parks & Recreation
18 acres0.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet

Homestead Park

Park
42 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot

Lakeside Park

Park
3 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 24 parks & preserves
Wicker Memorial Park216 acres · 6.4 mi of trail
Directions
Carlson Oxbow Park18 acres · 0.5 mi of trail · Hammond Parks & Recreation
Homestead Park42 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
Directions
Lakeside Park3 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
Sheppard Park17 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
Directions
Markley Park7 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
White Oak Estates Park2 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
Hoosier Prairie State Nature Preserve83 acres · Indiana Department of Natural Resources
Sharp Athletic Complex19 acres
Directions
Meadows Park17 acres
Directions
Lincoln Center13 acres
Directions
Grand Prairie12 acres
Directions
Main Square Park6 acres
Directions
Brantwood Park5 acres
81st/Liable Park5 acres
Little Turtle Park4 acres
Toth Park4 acres
Orchard Park3 acres
Northwood Park2 acres · Highland Park District
Jaycee Park1 acres
Lakeside Park Outlet1 acres
Sandalwood Park1 acres
Grand Park1 acres
45th & 5th Street Park1 acres
Who protects it

522 conserved acres

12% of Highland’s land. Who manages Highland’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.

Town or city372 ac
State natural resources78 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits72 ac
Local Park · 355 acState Conservation Area · 78 acPrivate Conservation · 67 acState Recreation Area · 18 acConservation Easement · 5 ac
Good to know

Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 5 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 18 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.

The biggest protected parcels
Parcel (PAD-US)Managed byAcresPublic access
Wicker Memorial Park
Local Park
Town or city217Open
Hoosier Prairie Nature Preserve
State Conservation Area
State natural resources78Restricted
Indiana Tolleston - Little Calumet River Floodpla
Private Conservation
Land trusts & nonprofits67Open
81St And Liable Park
Local Park
Town or city49Open
Carlson/Oxbow Park
Local Park
Town or city18Open
Sharp Athletic Complex
State Recreation Area
Town or city18Open
Meadows Park
Local Park
Town or city17Open
Sheppard Park
Local Park
Town or city9Open
Grand Park
Local Park
Town or city9Open
Markley Memorial Park
Local Park
Town or city8Open

5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.

Things to do

33 places to go in Highland

Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.

Playgrounds in Highland
Tot LotIn Lakeside Park
Directions

32 playgrounds are on OpenStreetMap in all; the list shows named ones from the first 30.

Trails & water

3 lakes & rivers

Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Lake HighlandlakeOxbow Park LagoonoxbowLittle Calumet River
Biking & sports

9.2 miles of bike routes

Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.

9.2 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
21Baseball
17Tennis
11Basketball
8Soccer
7Softball
2Football
1Beach volleyball

Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.

History along the way

1 place on the National Register

The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 2 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.

History →
Ibach HouseBuilding · listed 2010
About it
When to get out

The best walking months in Highland: April, August and September

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.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)9.510.511.813.314.515.214.913.812.411.09.89.2
High (°F)323648607180848276644937
Rain (in)2.21.92.33.64.34.44.23.93.53.52.82.2

February is the driest month (1.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 4.4 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Highland →

Next door

Highland and its neighbors

Tap a town to see its outdoors.

Calumet Township51 miGary49 miNorth Township42 miHammond14 miHighland8.2 miMunster8.1 miGriffith4.6 mi
TownConserved
of land		Trail mi
per sq mi		Park acres
per 1,000		Near a park
½ mile		Outdoors
Highland12%1.22199%+A
Hammond6%0.61396%A−
Calumet Township9%0.83491%A
North Township6%0.81498%A−
Griffith15%0.63795%A
Munster5%1.11799%+A
Gary9%1.04195%A

The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.

Questions about parks and trails in Highland

Where can I hike in Highland?

The longest trail networks: Wicker Memorial Park, 6.4 miles; Carlson Oxbow Park, 0.5 miles; Homestead Park, 0.3 miles; Lakeside Park, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.

How much of Highland is conserved land?

12% 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 Highland’s trails?

Wicker Memorial Park and Carlson Oxbow Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.

Where can I bike in Highland?

9.2 miles of bike routes are on the map: 9.2 of off-road paths.

Is there public land near Highland?

11,191 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Highland or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 502 of them inside the town line.

How much outdoors does Highland have?

Ahead of 94% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #4 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 Highland neighbors.

Town Square →
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 →