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Central PortagePhoto: Dennisyerger84 · CC BY-SA 4.0
AOutdoors
Outdoors in Portage Township

12% of Portage Township’s land is conserved: 2,730 acres

34 miles of mapped trail cross Portage Township, 1.0 per square mile of land. 2,236 acres are parks and preserves, 46 per 1,000 residents. The biggest trail networks: Imagination Glen Park (11.6 mi), Indiana Dunes National Park (10.4 mi), John Merle Coulter Nature Preserve (0.9 mi).

Ahead of 87% of U.S. towns · #24 of 593 in Indiana. What drives it

Conserved land
12%
2,730 acres · of 35.5 sq mi of land
Trails
34 mi
1.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
2,236 ac
46 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
72%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
13 mi
13 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
7
5 beaches

What kind of outdoors town is Portage Township?

Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.

Land that stays wild12% of the land is conserved; a typical Indiana town, 2%.A trail town1.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, more than 79% of U.S. towns.A beach town3 named beaches on the map.
Outdoors grade

How much outdoors does Portage Township have?

On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Portage Township is ahead of 87% of U.S. towns, #24 of 593 in Indiana. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; conserved land ranks highest, the share of residents near a park lowest.

A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Portage Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land12% of the land · typical IN town 2% · U.S. 4%A−Trails1.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (34 mi) · IN 0.1 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land46 acres of park per 1,000 residents (2,236 acres) · IN 10 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home72% 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 87%
LessMore
Indiana towns of 2,500+ (593)Ahead of 96%

Few Indiana towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Portage Township’s 12% is ahead of 94% of Indiana towns, while its trails per square mile lead 94% of them.

Water is 7% of Portage Township’s area (3 of 38 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 11%.

How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from A− 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.

12345678
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 Imagination Glen Park, with 11.6 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.

Imagination Glen Park

Park
260 acres11.6 mi of trail
Rich's RevengeFar Creek RunNear Creek RunDaytona+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot

Indiana Dunes National Park

Managed by National Park Service
1,852 acres10.4 mi of trail
Long Lake TrailWest Beach TrailTolleston Dunes Short LoopTolleston Dunes Long Loop+1
Dogs usually limited
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗

John Merle Coulter Nature Preserve

Managed by Shirley Heinze Land Trust
94 acres0.9 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗

Portage Lakefront Park and Riverwalk

Nature preserve
50 acres0.7 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot

Deer Trail Park

Park
17 acres0.6 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot

Frank Gilbert, Jr. Monument Park

Park
5 acres0.6 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet

Founder's Square Park

Park
4 acres0.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet

Countryside Park

Park
28 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 33 parks & preserves
Imagination Glen Park260 acres · 11.6 mi of trail
Directions
Indiana Dunes National Park1,852 acres · 10.4 mi of trail · National Park Service
Directions
John Merle Coulter Nature Preserve94 acres · 0.9 mi of trail · Shirley Heinze Land Trust
Portage Lakefront Park and Riverwalk50 acres · 0.7 mi of trail
Directions
Deer Trail Park17 acres · 0.6 mi of trail
Directions
Frank Gilbert, Jr. Monument Park5 acres · 0.6 mi of trail
Founder's Square Park4 acres · 0.5 mi of trail
Countryside Park28 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
Directions
Olson Memorial Park16 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
Directions
Long Lake Park4 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
Boat Club Park3 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Woodland Park58 acres
Directions
Haven Hollow Park28 acres
Field of Dreams Park12 acres
Wolfe Park10 acres
Hillcrest Park7 acres
Directions
Suerenity Park (Horsethieves' Hollow)7 acres
Kratz Memorial Field4 acres
Nelson Reck Park4 acres
Perry Park3 acres
Forest Avenue Park3 acres
Tamarack Park2 acres
Diana Park2 acres
Ski Jump Hill Park2 acres
Long Lake Marsh2 acres
Polliwog Pond Park1 acres
Bittersweet Forest1 acres
Ogden's Green1 acres
Ski Hill Circle Park1 acres
Community Acres Park1 acres
Ski Hill Park1 acres
Sunset Park1 acres
Ski Hill Place Green1 acres
Who protects it

2,730 conserved acres

12% of Portage Township’s land. Water is left out: Portage Township has 35.5 square miles of land and 2.8 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Portage Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.

National Park Service1,667 ac
Town or city715 ac
Private owners291 ac
Joint165 ac
Other or Unknown Federal Land91 ac
State fish & wildlife91 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits21 ac
National Park · 1,575 acLocal Park · 715 acConservation Easement · 348 acPrivate Park · 291 acState Conservation Area · 112 ac
Good to know

Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 257 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.

The biggest protected parcels
Parcel (PAD-US)Managed byAcresPublic access
Indiana Dunes National Park
National Park
National Park Service1,575Open
Imagination Glen
Local Park
Town or city255Open
Portage Bicentennial Park
Local Park
Town or city224Open
Duck Creek Country Club
Private Park
Private owners149Open
Robbinhurst Golf Course
Private Park
Private owners141Open
Salt Creek Fish And Wildlife Area
State Conservation Area
State fish & wildlife91Restricted
Portage (Woodland) Park
Local Park
Town or city51Open
Haven Hollow Park
Local Park
Town or city39Open
Prairie - Duneland Trail County Park
Local Park
Town or city31Open
Countryside Park
Local Park
Town or city28Open

5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.

Things to do

27 places to go in Portage Township

Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.

Beaches in Portage Township
Ogden Dunes BeachIn Indiana Dunes National Park
Directions
Portage LakefrontIn Indiana Dunes National Park
Directions
West BeachIn Indiana Dunes National Park
Directions

Plus 2 beaches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.

Trails & water

25 named trails and 7 lakes & rivers

Named trails
Open to bikes · 2.0 miUnpaved · 17.6 mi
Long Lake Trail1.5 mi
Rich's Revenge1.3 mi
West Beach Trail1.2 mi
Tolleston Dunes Short Loop1.0 mi
Tolleston Dunes Long Loop1.0 mi
Far Creek Run0.9 mi
Sand Track Walking Trail0.8 mi
Near Creek Run0.8 mi
Daytona0.8 mi
Broken Arrow0.7 mi
15 more trails
Basement
0.6 mi
Log Jam
0.6 mi
Hinterlands
0.5 mi
Riverwalk
0.5 mi
Spaghetti Hill
0.5 mi
Tolleston Dunes Trail
0.5 mi
Roller Coaster
0.4 mi
Speedy Ridge
0.4 mi
Switchback
0.4 mi
Trailer Run
0.4 mi
Bobal Ridge
0.4 mi
Dune Succession Trail
0.3 mi
Teenage Wasteland
0.3 mi
Peninsula
0.3 mi
Hinterland Connector
0.2 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Lake MinnehahalakeLong LakelakeLong Lake LagoonlakePolliwog PondpondBurns WaterwayEast Arm Little Calumet RiverSalt Creek
Biking & sports

13 miles of bike routes

Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.

13 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
27Baseball
17Tennis
9Soccer
2Football
2Beach volleyball
1Basketball
1Tracks

Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.

History along the way

4 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.

History →
Nike Missile Site C47District · listed 2000
About it
Josephus Wolf HouseBuilding · listed 2007
About it
When to get out

The best walking months in Portage Township: April, July and September

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.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)9.510.511.813.314.515.214.913.812.411.09.89.2
High (°F)323647597080838176634937
Rain (in)2.22.02.33.54.44.33.94.13.43.52.72.2

February is the driest month (2.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 4.4 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Portage Township →

Next door

Portage Township and its neighbors

Tap a town to see its outdoors.

Westchester Township55 miCalumet Township51 miGary49 miPortage Township34 miPortage27 miLiberty Township15 miUnion Township9.6 miBurns Harbor1.2 mi
TownConserved
of land		Trail mi
per sq mi		Park acres
per 1,000		Near a park
½ mile		Outdoors
Portage Township12%1.04672%A
Portage13%1.15576%A
Union Township1%0.3212%C−
Westchester Township32%1.729893%A+
Burns Harbor9%0.216285%A−
Liberty Township5%0.66358%B+
Gary9%1.04195%A
Calumet Township9%0.83491%A

The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.

Questions about parks and trails in Portage Township

Where can I hike in Portage Township?

The longest trail networks: Imagination Glen Park, 11.6 miles; Indiana Dunes National Park, 10.4 miles; John Merle Coulter Nature Preserve, 0.9 miles; Portage Lakefront Park and Riverwalk, 0.7 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.

How much of Portage Township is conserved land?

12% 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 Portage Township’s trails?

Imagination Glen Park and Indiana Dunes National Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.

Where can I bike in Portage Township?

13 miles of bike routes are on the map: 13 of off-road paths.

Is there public land near Portage Township?

18,729 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Portage Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 2,236 of them inside the town line.

How much outdoors does Portage Township have?

Ahead of 87% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #24 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 Portage Township neighbors.

Town Square →
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 →