Hoosier National Forest
Managed by United States Forest Service
184 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
C−Outdoors
Outdoors in Patoka Township
Patoka Township has 6.3 miles of mapped trails, 0.1 for every square mile of land
9 acres are parks and preserves, 5.2 per 1,000 residents. 2% of Patoka Township’s land is conserved, about 707 acres.
Ahead of 20% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
2%
707 acres · of 43.6 sq mi of land
Trails
6.3 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
9 ac
5.2 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
under 1%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.8 mi
0.8 mi paths
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Patoka Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Patoka Township is ahead of 20% of U.S. towns. All four inputs are below most U.S. towns; conserved land comes closest.
C−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Patoka Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land2% 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. 0.4C+Park land5.2 acres of park per 1,000 residents (9 acres) · IN 10 · U.S. 13CParks 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 20%
LessMore
Few Indiana towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Patoka Township’s 2% is ahead of 61% of Indiana towns, while its trails per square mile lead 51% of them.
NoteFew parks or trails are mapped in Patoka Township. OpenStreetMap is mapped by volunteers and coverage varies from town to town, so a town with unmapped parks scores low on them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from D 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 0.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
707 conserved acres
2% of Patoka Township’s land. Who manages Patoka Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources515 ac
U.S. Forest Service184 ac
Other state land8 ac
State Conservation Area · 515 acNational Forest · 184 acState Recreation Area · 8 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yellow Birch Ravine Nature Preserve Addition State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 268 | Restricted |
| Hoosier National Forest National Forest | U.S. Forest Service | 184 | Open |
| Yellow Birch Ravine Nature Preserve (Original) State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 150 | Restricted |
| Yellow Birch Ravine - Friedman III Tract State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 97 | Restricted |
| Patoka Reservoir State Recreation Area | Other state land | 8 | Open |
Things to do
3 places to go in Patoka Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Patoka Township
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in Patoka Township
South Launch Ramp
DirectionsPlus 1 boat launch without a name on the map.
Trails & water
1 named trail
Named trails
Open to bikes · 0.5 miUnpaved · 2.3 mi
Yellow Birch Ravine1.8 mi
Biking & sports
0.8 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.8 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
1Tennis
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
August is the best month for walking in Patoka 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) | 41 | 46 | 56 | 67 | 76 | 84 | 86 | 86 | 80 | 69 | 56 | 45 |
| Rain (in) | 3.7 | 3.3 | 4.7 | 5.3 | 5.7 | 5.0 | 4.6 | 3.1 | 3.6 | 3.5 | 4.1 | 4.0 |
August is the driest month (3.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 86 °F). 5.7 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 86 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Patoka Township →
Next door
Patoka Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Greenfield Township22 miJohnson Township9.5 miSterling Township9.3 miPatoka Township6.3 miUnion Township5.0 miJackson Township3.6 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Patoka Township | 2% | 0.1 | 5 | under 1% | C− |
| Johnson Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Sterling Township | 4% | 0.2 | under 1 | under 1% | C− |
| Jackson 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 | ||||
| Union 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 Patoka Township
Where can I hike in Patoka Township?
The longest trail networks: Hoosier National Forest, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Patoka Township 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 Patoka 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 Patoka Township?
0.8 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.8 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Patoka Township?
59,595 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Patoka Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 194 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Patoka Township have?
Ahead of 20% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade. 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 Patoka 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 →