Merry Lea Environmental Learning Center
Managed by Goshen College
773 acres8.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: Nyttend · Public domainCOutdoors
Outdoors in Noble Township
Noble Township has 8.2 miles of mapped trails, 0.2 for every square mile of land
11 acres are parks and preserves, 3.9 per 1,000 residents. 28% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 4% of Noble Township’s land is conserved, about 900 acres.
Ahead of 31% of U.S. towns · #325 of 593 in Indiana. What drives it
Conserved land
4%
900 acres · of 33.8 sq mi of land
Trails
8.2 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
11 ac
3.9 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
28%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
24
2 beaches · 1 boat launch
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Noble Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Noble Township is ahead of 31% of U.S. towns, #325 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 Noble Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land4% of the land · typical IN town 2% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (8 mi) · IN 0.1 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land3.9 acres of park per 1,000 residents (11 acres) · IN 10 · U.S. 13CParks close to home28% of residents within a half mile of a park · IN 51% · U.S. 72%C
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 31%
LessMore
Indiana towns of 2,500+ (593)Ahead of 45%
Few Indiana towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Noble Township’s 4% is ahead of 75% of Indiana towns, while its trails per square mile lead 65% 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
The longest trail network is Merry Lea Environmental Learning Center, with 8.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Wolflake Baseball Park
Park
7 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
900 conserved acres
4% of Noble Township’s land. Who manages Noble Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Private owners770 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)127 ac
State natural resources1 ac
State fish & wildlife1 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits1 ac
Private Conservation · 770 acConservation Easement · 127 acState Conservation Area · 2 acState Recreation Area · 1 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 126 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Merry Lea Environmental Center Private Conservation | Private owners | 733 | Closed |
| Merry Lea Nature Preserve Private Conservation | Private owners | 37 | Closed |
| Crooked Lake Nature Preserve (Original) State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 1 | Restricted |
| Crane Lake Public Access Site State Recreation Area | State fish & wildlife | 1 | Open |
| Crooked Lake Nature Preserve State Conservation Area | Land trusts & nonprofits | 1 | Closed |
Things to do
5 places to go in Noble Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Noble Township
2 beaches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Playgrounds in Noble Township
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in Noble Township
Bear Lake Public Access
DirectionsCampgrounds in Noble Township
Bear Lake Camp
DirectionsTrails & water
24 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Bass LakeBear LakelakeBig LakelakeBristol LakeCrane LakelakeCub LakelakeDeep LakelakeGreen LakelakeHarroff LakereservoirHawk LakelakeHigh LakelakeKuhns LakeLittle Cub LakeMarl LakelakeMillers LakeMuncie LakelakePayser LakelakePetty LakelakePleasant LakelakeSanford LakeSilver LakelakeWIlliams LakelakeWolf LakelakeTippecanoe River
Biking & sports
0.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Courts & fields
3Baseball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Luckey HospitalBuilding · listed 2013
About itWhen to get out
September is the best month for walking in Noble 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) | 9.5 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.5 | 15.1 | 14.9 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.2 |
| High (°F) | 32 | 36 | 47 | 60 | 71 | 80 | 83 | 81 | 76 | 63 | 48 | 37 |
| Rain (in) | 2.4 | 1.9 | 2.3 | 3.6 | 4.3 | 4.3 | 3.8 | 4.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 2.9 | 2.3 |
February is the driest month (1.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 4.3 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Noble Township →
Next door
Noble Township and its neighbors
Noble Township has the second most mapped trails of the 6 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Green Township32 miNoble Township8.2 miThorncreek Township4.0 miYork Township2.7 miWashington Township0.0 miTri-Lakes0.0 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Noble Township | 4% | 0.2 | 4 | 28% | C |
| Green Township | 13% | 0.9 | 1,359 | 18% | A− |
| Thorncreek Township | 2% | 0.1 | 76 | 20% | C+ |
| York Township | 4% | 0.1 | under 1 | under 1% | D |
| Washington Township | 5% | under 0.1 | 4 | 23% | C− |
| Tri-Lakes | 1% | under 0.1 | 5 | 32% | D |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Noble Township
Where can I hike in Noble Township?
The longest trail networks: Merry Lea Environmental Learning Center, 8.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Noble Township is conserved land?
4% 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 Noble Township’s trails?
Merry Lea Environmental Learning Center and Wolflake Baseball Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Noble Township?
4,199 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Noble Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 11 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Noble Township have?
Ahead of 31% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #325 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 Noble 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 →