Clark State Forest
Managed by Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Division of Forestry
1,984 acres7.5 mi of trail
Clark State Forest Horse Trails
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
C−Outdoors
Outdoors in Polk Township
9% of Polk Township’s land is conserved: 1,983 acres
The biggest trail networks: Clark State Forest (7.5 mi). 3% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 8.0 miles of mapped trail cross Polk Township, 0.2 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 23% of U.S. towns · #387 of 593 in Indiana. What drives it
Conserved land
9%
1,983 acres · of 35.8 sq mi of land
Trails
8.0 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Near a park
3%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.8 mi
1.8 mi paths
Highest peak
925 ft
Williams Knob
Lakes & rivers
1
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Polk Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Polk Township is ahead of 23% of U.S. towns, #387 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 Polk Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land9% of the land · typical IN town 2% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (8 mi) · IN 0.1 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land0.0 acres of park per 1,000 residents (0 acres) · IN 10 · U.S. 13DParks close to home3% 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 23%
LessMore
Indiana towns of 2,500+ (593)Ahead of 35%
Few Indiana towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Polk Township’s 9% is ahead of 90% of Indiana towns, while its trails per square mile lead 62% of them.
NoteFew parks or trails are mapped in Polk 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 Clark State Forest, with 7.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
1,983 conserved acres
9% of Polk Township’s land. Who manages Polk Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources1,983 ac
State Resource Management Area · 1,983 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clark State Forest State Resource Management Area | State natural resources | 1,983 | Open |
Things to do
3 places to go in Polk Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Polk Township
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Peaks in Polk Township
Williams Knob925 ft elevation
DirectionsBowers Knob899 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
1 named trail and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Horses · 7.7 miUnpaved · 7.5 mi
Clark State Forest Horse Trails6.7 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
1.8 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.8 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
5Tennis
1Baseball
1Football
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 Polk 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) | 3.4 | 3.3 | 4.4 | 5.3 | 5.4 | 4.7 | 4.2 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.4 | 3.7 | 4.0 |
February is the driest month (3.3 in) and July the warmest (highs of 86 °F). 5.4 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 86 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Polk Township →
Next door
Polk Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Monroe Township37 miWood Township12 miPolk Township8.0 miFranklin Township7.4 miPierce Township1.7 miWashington Township0.9 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Polk Township | 9% | 0.2 | under 1 | 3% | C− |
| Franklin Township | 7% | 0.2 | under 1 | under 1% | C− |
| Wood Township | 12% | 0.3 | 88 | 1% | B |
| Pierce Township | 1% | under 0.1 | 3 | 16% | D |
| Monroe Township | 24% | 0.7 | 23 | 1% | B |
| Washington Township | 2% | under 0.1 | 96 | 32% | C+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Polk Township
Where can I hike in Polk Township?
The longest trail networks: Clark State Forest, 7.5 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Polk Township is conserved land?
9% 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 Polk Township’s trails?
Clark State Forest doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Polk Township?
1.8 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.8 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Polk Township?
30,218 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Polk Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,988 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Polk Township have?
Ahead of 23% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #387 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 Polk 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 →