Hoosier National Forest
Managed by United States Forest Service
19,475 acres23.9 mi of trail
Two Lakes LoopOrange GroveCelina InterpretiveCounty Road 190
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Rickenbaugh House · Photo: Nyttend · Public domainCOutdoors
Outdoors in Oil Township
46% of Oil Township’s land is conserved: 19,672 acres
The biggest trail networks: Hoosier National Forest (23.9 mi). 26 miles of mapped trail cross Oil Township, 0.4 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 34% of U.S. towns · #302 of 593 in Indiana. What drives it
Conserved land
46%
19,672 acres · of 66.4 sq mi of land
Trails
26 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Near a park
under 1%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.2 mi
1.2 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
3
1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Oil Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Oil Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Oil Township is ahead of 34% of U.S. towns, #302 of 593 in Indiana. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
C
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Oil Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land46% of the land · typical IN town 2% · U.S. 4%A+Trails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (26 mi) · IN 0.1 · U.S. 0.4BPark 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 34%
LessMore
Indiana towns of 2,500+ (593)Ahead of 49%
Few Indiana towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Oil Township’s 46% is ahead of 100% of Indiana towns, while its trails per square mile lead 75% 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 Hoosier National Forest, with 23.9 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
19,672 conserved acres
46% of Oil Township’s land. Who manages Oil Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
U.S. Forest Service19,569 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits189 ac
National Forest · 19,569 acPrivate Conservation · 189 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hoosier National Forest National Forest | U.S. Forest Service | 19,569 | Open |
| Shooting Star Cliffs - Saalman Hollow Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 189 | Restricted |
Things to do
7 places to go in Oil Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Boat launches in Oil Township
1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Campgrounds in Oil Township
North Face CampingIn Hoosier National Forest
DirectionsSouth Slope CampingFee · In Hoosier National Forest · Cradle of Forestry Concessionaires
DirectionsPlus 4 campgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
6 named trails and 3 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 1.8 miHorses · 1.8 miUnpaved · 20.8 mi
Two Lakes Loop10.4 mi
Orange Grove0.9 mi
Celina Interpretive0.7 mi
Orental0.5 mi
County Road 2680.2 mi
County Road 1900.2 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
1.2 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.2 mi
off-road bike paths
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Rickenbaugh HouseBuilding · listed 1984
About itWhen to get out
The walking year in Oil 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) | 9.8 | 10.7 | 11.8 | 13.1 | 14.2 | 14.8 | 14.6 | 13.6 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.0 | 9.5 |
| High (°F) | 42 | 47 | 56 | 68 | 76 | 84 | 87 | 86 | 81 | 69 | 56 | 46 |
| Rain (in) | 3.7 | 3.4 | 4.7 | 5.3 | 5.7 | 4.9 | 4.4 | 3.1 | 3.6 | 3.7 | 4.1 | 4.2 |
August is the driest month (3.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 87 °F). 5.7 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 87 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Oil Township →
Next door
Oil Township and its neighbors
Oil Township has the most mapped trails of the 7 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Oil Township26 miUnion Township14 miClark Township10 miJohnson Township9.5 miBoone Township7.0 miUnion Township5.0 miLeopold Township3.0 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oil Township | 46% | 0.4 | under 1 | under 1% | C |
| Clark Township | 13% | 0.1 | under 1 | under 1% | C− |
| Leopold Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Union Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Boone Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Union Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Johnson Township | — 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 Oil Township
Where can I hike in Oil Township?
The longest trail networks: Hoosier National Forest, 23.9 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Oil Township is conserved land?
46% 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 Oil Township’s trails?
Hoosier National Forest doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Oil Township?
1.2 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.2 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Oil Township?
89,293 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Oil Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 19,593 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Oil Township have?
Ahead of 34% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #302 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 Oil 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 →