Lye Creek Prairie Burn
Nature preserve
89 acres0.9 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: Nyttend · Public domainC−Outdoors
Outdoors in Madison Township
Madison Township has 2 acres of parks, 2.3 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Lye Creek Prairie Burn (0.9 mi). 2.3 miles of mapped trail cross Madison Township, 0.1 per square mile of land. 55% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 16% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
under 1%
79 acres · of 36.2 sq mi of land
Trails
2.3 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
2 ac
2.3 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
55%
of residents within ½ mile
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Madison Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Madison Township is ahead of 16% of U.S. towns. All four inputs are below most U.S. towns; the share of residents near a park comes closest.
C−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Madison Township’s overall grade.
Conserved landunder 1% of the land · typical IN town 2% · U.S. 4%C−Trails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (2 mi) · IN 0.1 · U.S. 0.4C−Park land2.3 acres of park per 1,000 residents (2 acres) · IN 10 · U.S. 13C−Parks close to home55% 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 16%
LessMore
Few Indiana towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Madison Township’s under 1% is ahead of 22% of Indiana towns, while its trails per square mile lead 35% of them.
NoteFew parks or trails are mapped in Madison Township. OpenStreetMap is mapped by volunteers and coverage varies from town to town, so a town with unmapped parks scores low on them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C−. 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 Lye Creek Prairie Burn, with 0.9 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Stoddard Park
Park
2 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
79 conserved acres
under 1% of Madison Township’s land. Who manages Madison Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
USDA easements (NRCS)79 ac
Conservation Easement · 79 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 79 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
When to get out
August is the best month for walking in Madison 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) | 9.6 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 13.2 | 14.4 | 15.0 | 14.8 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 9.9 | 9.3 |
| High (°F) | 34 | 39 | 50 | 63 | 73 | 82 | 84 | 83 | 78 | 65 | 51 | 39 |
| Rain (in) | 2.6 | 2.2 | 3.0 | 4.2 | 4.5 | 5.0 | 4.6 | 3.6 | 3.1 | 3.3 | 3.3 | 2.7 |
February is the driest month (2.2 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 5.0 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Madison Township →
Next door
Madison Township and its neighbors
Madison Township has the second most mapped trails of the 4 towns around it. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Madison Township | under 1% | 0.1 | 2 | 55% | C− |
| Union Township | 1% | under 0.1 | 11 | 51% | C− |
| Coal Creek Township | under 1% | under 0.1 | 8 | 20% | D |
| Lauramie Township | under 1% | under 0.1 | 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 Madison Township
Where can I hike in Madison Township?
The longest trail networks: Lye Creek Prairie Burn, 0.9 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Madison Township is conserved land?
under 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 Madison Township’s trails?
Lye Creek Prairie Burn and Stoddard Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Madison Township?
253 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Madison Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 2 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Madison Township have?
Ahead of 16% 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 Madison 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 →