Owen-Putnam State Forest
Nature preserve
3,324 acres8.6 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: Nyttend · Public domainCOutdoors
Outdoors in Morgan Township
17% of Morgan Township’s land is conserved: 3,252 acres
The biggest trail networks: Owen-Putnam State Forest (8.6 mi). 8.6 miles of mapped trail cross Morgan Township, 0.3 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 27% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
17%
3,252 acres · of 29.6 sq mi of land
Trails
8.6 mi
0.3 per sq mi of land
Near a park
under 1%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
830 ft
Cooksey Hill
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Morgan Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Morgan Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Morgan Township is ahead of 27% of U.S. towns. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
C
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Morgan Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land17% of the land · typical IN town 2% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (9 mi) · IN 0.1 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land0.0 acres of park per 1,000 residents (0 acres) · IN 10 · U.S. 13DParks close to home0% 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 27%
LessMore
Few Indiana towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Morgan Township’s 17% is ahead of 97% of Indiana towns, while its trails per square mile lead 68% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from D 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
The longest trail network is Owen-Putnam State Forest, with 8.6 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
3,252 conserved acres
17% of Morgan Township’s land. Who manages Morgan Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources3,252 ac
State Resource Management Area · 3,252 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Owen-Putnam State Forest State Resource Management Area | State natural resources | 3,252 | Open |
Things to do
4 places to go in Morgan Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Peaks in Morgan Township
Cooksey Hill830 ft elevation · In Owen-Putnam State Forest
DirectionsHurricane Hill794 ft elevation
DirectionsSatan Hill745 ft elevation
DirectionsCampgrounds in Morgan Township
Horseman's CampgroundIn Owen-Putnam State Forest
DirectionsTrails & water
1 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
When to get out
August is the best month for walking in Morgan 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 | 14.7 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.0 | 9.4 |
| High (°F) | 37 | 41 | 52 | 64 | 74 | 82 | 85 | 84 | 78 | 66 | 52 | 41 |
| Rain (in) | 3.3 | 2.6 | 3.6 | 4.8 | 5.0 | 5.3 | 4.7 | 3.2 | 3.6 | 3.7 | 3.8 | 3.2 |
February is the driest month (2.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 85 °F). 5.3 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Morgan Township →
Next door
Morgan Township and its neighbors
Morgan Township has the second most mapped trails of the 7 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Washington Township13 miMorgan Township8.6 miJennings Township2.7 miMarion Township2.5 miJackson Township2.0 miLafayette Township1.2 miMontgomery Township0.1 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Morgan Township | 17% | 0.3 | under 1 | under 1% | C |
| Jackson Township | 5% | 0.1 | 132 | 18% | B− |
| Lafayette Township | 3% | under 0.1 | under 1 | 3% | D |
| Montgomery Township | 7% | under 0.1 | under 1 | under 1% | D |
| Jennings Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Marion Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Washington Township | 7% | 0.3 | 300 | 36% | B+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Morgan Township
Where can I hike in Morgan Township?
The longest trail networks: Owen-Putnam State Forest, 8.6 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Morgan Township is conserved land?
17% 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 Morgan Township’s trails?
Owen-Putnam State Forest doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Morgan Township?
11,416 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Morgan Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 3,259 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Morgan Township have?
Ahead of 27% 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 Morgan 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 →