The Quarry Adventure
Park
155 acres2.9 mi of trail
Quarry Rim TrailCanyon TrailMeadow TrailDevil's Tongue Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Chris Flook · CC BY-SA 4.0BOutdoors
Outdoors in North Vernon
North Vernon has 10 miles of mapped trails, 1.3 for every square mile of land
The biggest trail networks: The Quarry Adventure (2.9 mi), Tripton Park (1.7 mi), North Vernon Park (0.8 mi). 2% of North Vernon’s land is conserved, about 84 acres. 73% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 63% of U.S. towns · #105 of 593 in Indiana. What drives it
Conserved land
2%
84 acres · of 7.9 sq mi of land
Trails
10 mi
1.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
93 ac
13 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
73%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.1 mi
0.1 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is North Vernon?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does North Vernon have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, North Vernon is ahead of 63% of U.S. towns, #105 of 593 in Indiana. Trail miles hold the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of North Vernon’s overall grade.
Conserved land2% of the land · typical IN town 2% · U.S. 4%C+Trails1.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (10 mi) · IN 0.1 · U.S. 0.4APark land13 acres of park per 1,000 residents (93 acres) · IN 10 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to home73% 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 63%
LessMore
Indiana towns of 2,500+ (593)Ahead of 82%
Few Indiana towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so North Vernon’s 2% is ahead of 50% of Indiana towns, while its trails per square mile lead 97% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A−. 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 The Quarry Adventure, with 2.9 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Calli Nature Preserve
Nature preserve
4 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 6 parks & preserves
The Quarry Adventure155 acres · 2.9 mi of trail
Tripton Park42 acres · 1.7 mi of trail
DirectionsNorth Vernon Park32 acres · 0.8 mi of trail
DirectionsCalli Nature Preserve4 acres
Muscatatuck County Park2 acres
Walnut Street Park2 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
84 conserved acres
2% of North Vernon’s land. Who manages North Vernon’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city80 ac
State natural resources7 ac
Local Park · 80 acState Conservation Area · 4 acConservation Easement · 3 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 6 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tripton Park Local Park | Town or city | 50 | Open |
| North Vernon City Park Local Park | Town or city | 27 | Open |
| Violet And Louis J. Calli Sr. Nature Preserve State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 4 | Restricted |
| Muscatatuck Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Mini Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
8 places to go in North Vernon
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in North Vernon
Saint Mary's School Playground
DirectionsWalnut Street PlaygroundIn Walnut Street Park
DirectionsPlus 5 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Picnic areas in North Vernon
1 picnic area without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
5 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 1.2 mi
Quarry Rim Trail1.2 mi
Canyon Trail0.8 mi
Meadow Trail0.6 mi
Devil's Tongue Trail0.4 mi
Jennings County Public Library Walking Path0.3 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
12Soccer
11Baseball
8Tennis
7Basketball
4Softball
3Football
1Skate park
1Pickleball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →4 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 7 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
August is the best month for walking in North Vernon
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 | 9.4 |
| High (°F) | 39 | 44 | 54 | 66 | 75 | 83 | 86 | 85 | 79 | 68 | 54 | 43 |
| Rain (in) | 3.5 | 3.0 | 4.1 | 5.0 | 5.3 | 5.2 | 4.5 | 3.9 | 3.3 | 3.3 | 3.7 | 3.7 |
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. The climate in North Vernon →
Next door
North Vernon and its neighbors
North Vernon has the second most mapped trails of the 4 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Vernon | 2% | 1.3 | 13 | 73% | B |
| Center Township | 4% | 0.8 | 18 | 61% | B+ |
| Country Squire Lakes | under 1% | 0.1 | 3 | 57% | C− |
| Vernon Township | 21% | 0.3 | 95 | 25% | B+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in North Vernon
Where can I hike in North Vernon?
The longest trail networks: The Quarry Adventure, 2.9 miles; Tripton Park, 1.7 miles; North Vernon Park, 0.8 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of North Vernon 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 North Vernon’s trails?
The Quarry Adventure and Tripton Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in North Vernon?
0.1 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.1 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near North Vernon?
1,066 acres of parks and open public land lie inside North Vernon or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 93 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does North Vernon have?
Ahead of 63% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #105 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 North Vernon 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 →