Hoosier National Forest
Managed by United States Forest Service
2,409 acres2.3 mi of trail
Pioneer MothersYoungs Creek
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: Nyttend · Public domainCOutdoors
Outdoors in Paoli Township
7% of Paoli Township’s land is conserved: 2,850 acres
The biggest trail networks: Hoosier National Forest (2.3 mi). 31% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 5.9 miles of mapped trail cross Paoli Township, 0.1 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 33% of U.S. towns · #308 of 593 in Indiana. What drives it
Conserved land
7%
2,850 acres · of 63.2 sq mi of land
Trails
5.9 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
37 ac
6.1 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
31%
of residents within ½ mile
What kind of outdoors town is Paoli Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Paoli Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Paoli Township is ahead of 33% of U.S. towns, #308 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 Paoli Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land7% of the land · typical IN town 2% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (6 mi) · IN 0.1 · U.S. 0.4CPark land6.1 acres of park per 1,000 residents (37 acres) · IN 10 · U.S. 13CParks close to home31% 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 33%
LessMore
Indiana towns of 2,500+ (593)Ahead of 48%
Few Indiana towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Paoli Township’s 7% is ahead of 87% of Indiana towns, while its trails per square mile lead 42% 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 Hoosier National Forest, with 2.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
2,850 conserved acres
7% of Paoli Township’s land. Who manages Paoli Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
U.S. Forest Service2,403 ac
State natural resources390 ac
Other state land387 ac
Town or city35 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits9 ac
National Forest · 2,403 acPrivate Conservation · 390 acForest Stewardship Easement · 387 acLocal Park · 35 acState Conservation Area · 9 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 14 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 7 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hoosier National Forest National Forest | U.S. Forest Service | 2,403 | Open |
| Nehrt Tract Forest Legacy Area Private Conservation | State natural resources | 390 | Closed |
| Unknown Park Local Park | Town or city | 24 | Open |
| Barclay - Giel State Conservation Area | Land trusts & nonprofits | 9 | Restricted |
| Jay Cee Park Local Park | Town or city | 9 | Open |
| Maria Radcliffe Rest Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
Things to do
3 places to go in Paoli Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Paoli Township
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Campgrounds in Paoli Township
Youngs Creek HorsecampIn Hoosier National Forest
DirectionsTrails & water
2 named trails
Named trails
Unpaved · 2.1 mi
Pioneer Mothers1.2 mi
Youngs Creek0.9 mi
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
7Baseball
5Tennis
3Basketball
2Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →5 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 1 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
August is the best month for walking in Paoli 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 | 13.2 | 14.3 | 14.8 | 14.6 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.0 | 9.5 |
| High (°F) | 40 | 45 | 55 | 67 | 76 | 83 | 86 | 86 | 80 | 68 | 55 | 44 |
| Rain (in) | 3.6 | 3.2 | 4.4 | 5.2 | 5.5 | 4.9 | 4.3 | 3.3 | 3.6 | 3.4 | 3.8 | 3.8 |
February is the driest month (3.2 in) and July the warmest (highs of 86 °F). 5.5 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 86 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Paoli Township →
Next door
Paoli Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Greenfield Township22 miFrench Lick Township12 miSoutheast Township8.8 miPaoli Township5.9 miOrangeville Township2.5 miOrleans Township1.5 miStampers Creek Township0.3 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paoli Township | 7% | 0.1 | 6 | 31% | C |
| Orleans Township | under 1% | under 0.1 | 1 | 47% | D |
| Orangeville Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Greenfield Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| French Lick Township | 2% | 0.2 | 8 | 19% | C |
| Southeast Township | 19% | 0.2 | under 1 | under 1% | C− |
| Stampers Creek Township | 9% | under 0.1 | under 1 | under 1% | D |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Paoli Township
Where can I hike in Paoli Township?
The longest trail networks: Hoosier National Forest, 2.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Paoli Township is conserved land?
7% 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 Paoli Township’s trails?
Hoosier National Forest and Barclay Woods Preserve don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Paoli Township?
43,042 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Paoli Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,842 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Paoli Township have?
Ahead of 33% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #308 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 Paoli 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 →