Fern Cliff Nature Preserve
Managed by Indiana DNR
149 acres0.6 mi of trail
Fern Cliff Nature Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
COutdoors
Outdoors in Madison Township
Madison Township has 165 acres of parks, 168 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Fern Cliff Nature Preserve (0.6 mi). 9% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 1.1 miles of mapped trail cross Madison Township.
Ahead of 28% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
1%
160 acres · of 35.3 sq mi of land
Trails
1.1 mi
0.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
165 ac
168 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
9%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
860 ft
Bald Hill
Lakes & rivers
3
What kind of outdoors town is Madison Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
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 28% 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 Madison Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land1% of the land · typical IN town 2% · U.S. 4%CTrails0.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · IN 0.1 · U.S. 0.4C−Park land168 acres of park per 1,000 residents (165 acres) · IN 10 · U.S. 13AParks close to home9% of residents within a half mile of a park · IN 51% · U.S. 72%D
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 28%
LessMore
Few Indiana towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Madison Township’s 1% is ahead of 34% of Indiana towns, while its trails per square mile lead 26% of 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 Fern Cliff Nature Preserve, with 0.6 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Depauw Nature Park
Park
4 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
160 conserved acres
1% of Madison Township’s land. Who manages Madison Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits160 ac
Private Conservation · 160 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fern Cliff Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 160 | Open |
Things to do
1 places to go in Madison Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Peaks in Madison Township
Bald Hill860 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
1 named trail and 3 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Fern Cliff Nature Trail0.6 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Oakalla Covered BridgeStructure · listed 2024
About itWhen 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) | 9.7 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 13.2 | 14.3 | 15.0 | 14.7 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 9.9 | 9.4 |
| High (°F) | 35 | 40 | 51 | 63 | 73 | 82 | 84 | 83 | 78 | 66 | 51 | 40 |
| Rain (in) | 3.1 | 2.5 | 3.4 | 4.8 | 4.8 | 5.4 | 4.4 | 3.2 | 3.4 | 3.5 | 3.6 | 3.1 |
February is the driest month (2.5 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 5.4 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Madison Township →
Next door
Madison Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Greencastle Township14 miWashington Township9.0 miJackson Township1.4 miMadison Township1.1 miClinton Township0.4 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Madison Township | 1% | under 0.1 | 168 | 9% | C |
| Greencastle Township | 1% | 0.4 | 71 | 62% | B |
| Clinton Township | 1% | under 0.1 | 2 | 37% | D |
| Washington Township | under 1% | 0.2 | 100 | 10% | C |
| Jackson Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
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: Fern Cliff Nature Preserve, 0.6 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Madison 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 Madison Township’s trails?
Fern Cliff Nature Preserve and Depauw Nature Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Madison Township?
5,917 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Madison Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 165 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Madison Township have?
Ahead of 28% 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 →