Muscatatuck National Wildlife Refuge
Nature preserve
15 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
COutdoors
Outdoors in Marion Township
Few parks or trails are on the map in Marion Township
1% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 31 acres are parks and preserves, 31 per 1,000 residents. 2.5 miles of mapped trail cross Marion Township, 0.1 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 28% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
2%
393 acres · of 33.0 sq mi of land
Trails
2.5 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
31 ac
31 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
1%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
2
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Marion Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Marion 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 Marion 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 (3 mi) · IN 0.1 · U.S. 0.4CPark land31 acres of park per 1,000 residents (31 acres) · IN 10 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home1% 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 Marion Township’s 2% is ahead of 53% of Indiana towns, while its trails per square mile lead 38% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C− 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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
393 conserved acres
2% of Marion Township’s land. Who manages Marion Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
USDA easements (NRCS)353 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits30 ac
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service21 ac
Conservation Easement · 353 acState Conservation Area · 30 acNational Wildlife Refuge · 21 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 353 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tribbets Flatwoods State Conservation Area | Land trusts & nonprofits | 30 | Open |
| Muscatatuck National Wildlife Refuge National Wildlife Refuge | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 21 | Restricted |
Trails & water
3 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
South County Road 750 West1.2 mi
South County Road 700 West0.5 mi
South County Road 740 West0.4 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
When to get out
August is the best month for walking in Marion 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 | 10.7 | 11.8 | 13.2 | 14.3 | 14.9 | 14.6 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.0 | 9.5 |
| High (°F) | 40 | 45 | 54 | 67 | 76 | 83 | 86 | 86 | 80 | 68 | 55 | 44 |
| Rain (in) | 3.4 | 3.0 | 4.2 | 5.0 | 5.3 | 4.9 | 4.3 | 3.8 | 3.3 | 3.3 | 3.7 | 3.8 |
February is the driest month (3.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 86 °F). 5.3 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 86 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Marion Township →
Next door
Marion Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Johnson Township5.2 miSpencer Township2.7 miMarion Township2.5 miVernon Township2.1 miGraham Township0.2 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marion Township | 2% | 0.1 | 31 | 1% | C |
| Spencer Township | 10% | 0.1 | under 1 | 2% | C− |
| Johnson Township | 11% | 0.2 | 953 | 14% | B |
| Vernon Township | 6% | under 0.1 | under 1 | under 1% | D |
| Graham Township | 1% | under 0.1 | 188 | 14% | C |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Marion Township
How much of Marion 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 Marion Township’s trails?
Muscatatuck National Wildlife Refuge doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Marion Township?
3,997 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Marion Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 31 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Marion 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 Marion 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 →