Ferdinand State Forest
Managed by Indiana Department of Natural Resources
332 acres1.8 mi of trail
Kyana Trail (GREEN)Firelane 5
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Evking22 · CC BY-SA 4.0C+Outdoors
Outdoors in Jackson Township
Jackson Township has 174 acres of parks, 77 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Ferdinand State Forest (1.8 mi). 20% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 4.8 miles of mapped trail cross Jackson Township, 0.1 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 42% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
2%
500 acres · of 34.6 sq mi of land
Trails
4.8 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
174 ac
77 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
20%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
4
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Jackson Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Jackson Township is ahead of 42% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
C+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Jackson Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land2% of the land · typical IN town 2% · U.S. 4%C+Trails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (5 mi) · IN 0.1 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land77 acres of park per 1,000 residents (174 acres) · IN 10 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home20% 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 42%
LessMore
Few Indiana towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Jackson Township’s 2% is ahead of 59% of Indiana towns, while its trails per square mile lead 50% 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 Ferdinand State Forest, with 1.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
500 conserved acres
2% of Jackson Township’s land. Who manages Jackson Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources326 ac
County171 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits3 ac
State Resource Management Area · 326 acLocal Park · 171 acLocal Recreation Area · 3 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ferdinand State Forest State Resource Management Area | State natural resources | 326 | Open |
| Dubois County Park Local Park | County | 171 | Open |
| St. Anthony Community Center Local Recreation Area | Land trusts & nonprofits | 3 | Open |
Things to do
1 places to go in Jackson Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Campgrounds in Jackson Township
Dubois County Park
DirectionsTrails & water
5 named trails and 4 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 1.5 miUnpaved · 2.7 mi
Kyana Trail (GREEN)1.5 mi
South 600 East0.9 mi
South 450E0.4 mi
Firelane 50.4 mi
South 245 East0.2 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
4Tennis
4Basketball
1Equestrian
1Soccer
1Baseball
1Softball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The walking year in Jackson 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) | 9.8 | 10.7 | 11.8 | 13.1 | 14.2 | 14.8 | 14.6 | 13.6 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.0 | 9.5 |
| High (°F) | 41 | 46 | 56 | 67 | 76 | 84 | 87 | 86 | 81 | 69 | 56 | 45 |
| Rain (in) | 3.6 | 3.2 | 4.6 | 5.3 | 5.7 | 4.9 | 4.4 | 3.1 | 3.6 | 3.5 | 4.1 | 4.0 |
August is the driest month (3.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 87 °F). 5.7 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 87 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Jackson Township →
Next door
Jackson Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Jefferson Township11 miFerdinand Township8.1 miHall Township6.2 miJackson Township4.8 miPatoka Township4.6 miBainbridge Township3.9 miMarion Township1.5 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jackson Township | 2% | 0.1 | 77 | 20% | C+ |
| Ferdinand Township | 5% | 0.2 | 11 | 51% | B− |
| Patoka Township | 1% | 0.1 | 15 | 75% | C+ |
| Jefferson Township | 14% | 0.3 | 17 | 4% | B− |
| Marion Township | under 1% | under 0.1 | under 1 | under 1% | D− |
| Bainbridge Township | 5% | 0.1 | 27 | 59% | B− |
| Hall Township | under 1% | 0.2 | under 1 | under 1% | D |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Jackson Township
Where can I hike in Jackson Township?
The longest trail networks: Ferdinand State Forest, 1.8 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Jackson Township is conserved land?
2% 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 Jackson Township’s trails?
Ferdinand State Forest doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Jackson Township?
21,583 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Jackson Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 507 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Jackson Township have?
Ahead of 42% 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 Jackson 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 →