Fort Harrison State Park
Managed by Indiana Department of Natural Resources
1,725 acres13.4 mi of trail
Lawrence Creek TrailSchoen Creek TrailFall Creek TrailCamp Glenn Trail+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trailheadWebsite ↗
Photo: ONUnicorn · CC BY-SA 4.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Lawrence
18% of Lawrence’s land is conserved: 2,367 acres
22 miles of mapped trail cross Lawrence, 1.1 per square mile of land. 2,204 acres are parks and preserves, 45 per 1,000 residents. The biggest trail networks: Fort Harrison State Park (13.4 mi).
Ahead of 87% of U.S. towns · #21 of 593 in Indiana. What drives it
Conserved land
18%
2,367 acres · of 20.2 sq mi of land
Trails
22 mi
1.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
2,204 ac
45 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
61%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
14 mi
1.4 mi lanes · 12 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
5
What kind of outdoors town is Lawrence?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Lawrence have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Lawrence is ahead of 87% of U.S. towns, #21 of 593 in Indiana. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Lawrence’s overall grade.
Conserved land18% of the land · typical IN town 2% · U.S. 4%ATrails1.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (22 mi) · IN 0.1 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land45 acres of park per 1,000 residents (2,204 acres) · IN 10 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home61% of residents within a half mile of a park · IN 51% · U.S. 72%B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 87%
LessMore
Indiana towns of 2,500+ (593)Ahead of 97%
Few Indiana towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Lawrence’s 18% is ahead of 97% of Indiana towns, while its trails per square mile lead 95% 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.
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 Fort Harrison State Park, with 13.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Oaklandon Youth Organization, Veterans Memorial Park
Park
45 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 8 parks & preserves
Fort Harrison State Park1,725 acres · 13.4 mi of trail · Indiana Department of Natural Resources
DirectionsLee Road Park29 acres · 0.4 mi of trail
DirectionsLawrence Community Park147 acres
DirectionsOaklandon Youth Organization, Veterans Memorial Park45 acres
Oren Alexander Memorial Park11 acres
DirectionsEugene Burns Park10 acres
DirectionsLouis J. Jenn Memorial Park8 acres
Veteran's Memorial Park7 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
2,367 conserved acres
18% of Lawrence’s land. Who manages Lawrence’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State parks1,606 ac
Private owners392 ac
Town or city337 ac
State natural resources27 ac
Other state land12 ac
State Park · 975 acState Conservation Area · 700 acLocal Park · 295 acPrivate Park · 279 acPrivate Recreation or Education · 113 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 6 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 2 of 23 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fort Benjamin Harrison State Park State Park | State parks | 969 | Open |
| Old Oakland Golf Course Private Park | Private owners | 231 | Open |
| Lawrence Creek Nature Preserve State Conservation Area | State parks | 230 | Open |
| Bluffs of Fall Creek Nature Preserve State Conservation Area | State parks | 150 | Open |
| Lawrence Community Park Local Park | Town or city | 142 | Open |
| WarblerWoods Nature Preserve State Conservation Area | State parks | 134 | Open |
| Chinquapin Ridge Nature Preserve State Conservation Area | State parks | 118 | Open |
| Camp Beltzer Private Recreation or Education | Private owners | 113 | Open |
| Indian Lake Country Club Private Park | Private owners | 48 | Open |
| Upper Fall Creek State Conservation Area | Town or city | 42 | Restricted |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
28 places to go in Lawrence
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Lawrence
26 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Picnic areas in Lawrence
1 picnic area without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Campgrounds in Lawrence
Camp Belzer
DirectionsTrails & water
10 named trails and 5 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 0.9 miHorses · 2.2 miUnpaved · 11.7 mi
Lawrence Creek Trail3.6 mi
Schoen Creek Trail2.9 mi
Horizon Cross Country Course1.3 mi
Upper Fall Creek Loop Trail0.9 mi
Fall Creek Trail0.5 mi
Camp Glenn Trail0.5 mi
Camp Creek Trail0.3 mi
Lawrence Creek Connector0.1 mi
Upper Fall Creek Trail0.1 mi
Schoen Creek Connector0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
14 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.4 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
12 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
39Tennis
33Baseball
8Soccer
6Basketball
3Football
1Skate park
1Beach volleyball
1Softball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →5 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 1 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
August is the best month for walking in Lawrence
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) | 9.6 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 13.2 | 14.4 | 15.0 | 14.7 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 9.9 | 9.4 |
| High (°F) | 35 | 40 | 51 | 63 | 73 | 82 | 85 | 83 | 78 | 65 | 51 | 40 |
| Rain (in) | 2.9 | 2.4 | 3.3 | 4.3 | 4.8 | 5.2 | 4.3 | 3.5 | 3.3 | 3.3 | 3.5 | 3.0 |
February is the driest month (2.4 in) and July the warmest (highs of 85 °F). 5.2 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Lawrence →
Next door
Lawrence 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lawrence | 18% | 1.1 | 45 | 61% | A |
| Indianapolis | 6% | 0.5 | 15 | 61% | B |
| Lawrence Township | 10% | 0.6 | 23 | 56% | B+ |
| Buck Creek Township | under 1% | under 0.1 | 2 | 10% | D |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Lawrence
Where can I hike in Lawrence?
The longest trail networks: Fort Harrison State Park, 13.4 miles; Lee Road Park, 0.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Lawrence is conserved land?
18% 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 Lawrence’s trails?
Fort Harrison State Park and Lee Road Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Lawrence?
14 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.4 of painted or protected lanes and 12 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Lawrence?
9,645 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Lawrence or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 2,204 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Lawrence have?
Ahead of 87% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #21 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 Lawrence 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 →