Needham Township has 12 miles of mapped trails, 0.4 for every square mile of land
6% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 11% of U.S. towns · #490 of 593 in Indiana. What drives it
How much outdoors does Needham Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Needham Township is ahead of 11% of U.S. towns, #490 of 593 in Indiana. Trail miles hold the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
Few Indiana towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Needham Township’s under 1% is ahead of 18% of Indiana towns, while its trails per square mile lead 74% of them.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
46 conserved acres
under 1% of Needham Township’s land. Who manages Needham Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 46 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 2 of 2 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
5 places to go in Needham Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
5 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
1 lakes & rivers
5.8 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
August is the best month for walking in Needham 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 | 9.9 | 9.4 |
| High (°F) | 36 | 41 | 52 | 64 | 74 | 82 | 85 | 84 | 78 | 66 | 52 | 41 |
| Rain (in) | 3.1 | 2.6 | 3.5 | 4.7 | 4.9 | 4.8 | 4.2 | 3.3 | 3.1 | 3.3 | 3.6 | 3.2 |
February is the driest month (2.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 85 °F). 4.9 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Needham Township →
Needham Township and its neighbors
Needham Township has the most mapped trails of the 5 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Needham Township | under 1% | 0.4 | under 1 | 6% | D |
| Franklin Township | 1% | 0.1 | 10 | 57% | C |
| Blue River Township | 16% | 0.2 | 45 | 61% | B+ |
| Jackson Township | under 1% | 0.1 | under 1 | under 1% | D |
| Amity | — 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 Needham Township
How much of Needham 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.
Where can I bike in Needham Township?
5.8 miles of bike routes are on the map: 5.8 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Needham Township?
2,721 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Needham Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), almost none of it inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Needham Township have?
Ahead of 11% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #490 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 Needham Township neighbors.
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 →