Lanier Mansion State Historic Site
Park
9 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Charles L. Shrewsbury House · Photo: Nyttend · Public domainC+Outdoors
Outdoors in Madison
11% of Madison’s land is conserved: 591 acres
48 acres are parks and preserves, 3.9 per 1,000 residents. 1.4 miles of mapped trail cross Madison, 0.2 per square mile of land. 61% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 45% of U.S. towns · #232 of 593 in Indiana. What drives it
Conserved land
11%
591 acres · of 8.6 sq mi of land
Trails
1.4 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
48 ac
3.9 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
61%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.1 mi
0.1 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
2
2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Madison?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Madison have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Madison is ahead of 45% of U.S. towns, #232 of 593 in Indiana. Conserved land holds the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
C+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Madison’s overall grade.
Conserved land11% of the land · typical IN town 2% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · IN 0.1 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land3.9 acres of park per 1,000 residents (48 acres) · IN 10 · U.S. 13CParks 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 45%
LessMore
Indiana towns of 2,500+ (593)Ahead of 61%
Few Indiana towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Madison’s 11% is ahead of 93% of Indiana towns, while its trails per square mile lead 53% 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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Crystal Beach Swimming Pool
Park
2 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 5 parks & preserves
Bicentennial Park4 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsFireman's Park1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsLanier Mansion State Historic Site9 acres
Crystal Beach Swimming Pool2 acres
Kiwanis Park1 acres
Who protects it
591 conserved acres
11% of Madison’s land. Who manages Madison’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Private owners548 ac
Town or city13 ac
Other state land13 ac
Joint13 ac
State conservation8 ac
State parks5 ac
State natural resources4 ac
Private Other or Unknown · 548 acConservation Easement · 26 acState Historic or Cultural Area · 8 acLocal Recreation Area · 8 acLocal Park · 5 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 13 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| American Electric Power - Clifty Creek Private Other or Unknown | Private owners | 548 | Open |
| James Fd Lanier Memorial State Historic or Cultural Area | State conservation | 8 | Open |
| John Paul Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| Clifty Falls State Park State Park | State parks | 5 | Open |
| Bicentennial Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Clifty Falls State Park Swimming Pool State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 4 | Open |
| Crystal Beach Swimming Pool Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Madison Riverfront Dog Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
Things to do
6 places to go in Madison
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Madison
4 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Madison
2 boat launches without a name on the map.
Trails & water
1 named trail and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Heritage Trail1.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.1 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.1 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
12Baseball
8Tennis
3Soccer
3Football
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →5 places on the National Register, 3 of them National Historic Landmarks
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 Madison
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 | 10.7 | 11.8 | 13.2 | 14.3 | 14.9 | 14.6 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.0 | 9.5 |
| High (°F) | 40 | 45 | 55 | 66 | 75 | 83 | 86 | 85 | 79 | 68 | 54 | 44 |
| Rain (in) | 3.5 | 3.2 | 4.3 | 5.1 | 5.5 | 5.1 | 4.6 | 3.9 | 3.4 | 3.5 | 3.6 | 4.0 |
February is the driest month (3.2 in) and July the warmest (highs of 86 °F). 5.5 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Madison →
Next door
Madison 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Madison | 11% | 0.2 | 4 | 61% | C+ |
| Madison Township | 6% | 0.3 | 86 | 44% | B+ |
| Hanover Township | 3% | 0.2 | 26 | 53% | B− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Madison
Where can I hike in Madison?
The longest trail networks: Bicentennial Park, 0.2 miles; Fireman's Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Madison is conserved land?
11% 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’s trails?
Lanier Mansion State Historic Site and Bicentennial Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Madison?
0.1 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.1 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Madison?
2,559 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Madison or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 53 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Madison have?
Ahead of 45% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #232 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 Madison 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 →