Summit Lake State Park
Managed by Indiana Department of Natural Resources
1,097 acres2.6 mi of trail
Trail 2Trail 4Trail 6Trail 3
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Nyttend · Public domainB−Outdoors
Outdoors in Prairie Township
Prairie Township has 1,273 acres of parks, 212 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Summit Lake State Park (2.6 mi). 10% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 7% of Prairie Township’s land is conserved, about 1,824 acres.
Ahead of 48% of U.S. towns · #206 of 593 in Indiana. What drives it
Conserved land
7%
1,824 acres · of 39.7 sq mi of land
Trails
2.6 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,273 ac
212 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
10%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.7 mi
0.7 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Prairie Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Prairie Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Prairie Township is ahead of 48% of U.S. towns, #206 of 593 in Indiana. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Prairie 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 (3 mi) · IN 0.1 · U.S. 0.4CPark land212 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,273 acres) · IN 10 · U.S. 13AParks close to home10% 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 48%
LessMore
Indiana towns of 2,500+ (593)Ahead of 65%
Few Indiana towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Prairie Township’s 7% is ahead of 88% of Indiana towns, while its trails per square mile lead 35% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C 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 Summit Lake State Park, with 2.6 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Wilbur Wright Fish and Wildlife Area
Managed by Indiana Department of Natural Resources
510 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Who protects it
1,824 conserved acres
7% of Prairie Township’s land. Who manages Prairie Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State parks1,260 ac
State fish & wildlife519 ac
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service40 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits5 ac
State Park · 1,128 acState Conservation Area · 651 acConservation Easement · 40 acPrivate Conservation · 5 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 40 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Summit Lake State Park State Park | State parks | 1,128 | Open |
| Wilbur Wright Fish And Wildlife Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 519 | Restricted |
| Zeigler Nature Preserve State Conservation Area | State parks | 131 | Open |
| Salamander Swale Site Fee Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 5 | Closed |
Things to do
12 places to go in Prairie Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Prairie Township
6 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Prairie Township
2 boat launches without a name on the map.
Picnic areas in Prairie Township
1 picnic area without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Campgrounds in Prairie Township
Youth Tent CampingIn Summit Lake State Park
DirectionsPlus 2 campgrounds without a name on the map.
Trails & water
4 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Trail 21.5 mi
Trail 40.4 mi
Trail 60.4 mi
Trail 30.3 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.7 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.7 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
14Basketball
6Baseball
6Tennis
1Beach volleyball
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 Prairie 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) | 9.6 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 13.2 | 14.4 | 15.0 | 14.7 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 9.9 | 9.3 |
| High (°F) | 34 | 39 | 49 | 62 | 73 | 81 | 84 | 82 | 77 | 65 | 51 | 39 |
| Rain (in) | 3.0 | 2.4 | 3.5 | 4.3 | 4.8 | 5.1 | 4.3 | 3.6 | 3.1 | 3.2 | 3.4 | 3.0 |
February is the driest month (2.4 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 5.1 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Prairie Township →
Next door
Prairie Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Henry Township13 miStoney Creek Township3.3 miPrairie Township2.6 miJefferson Township1.0 miBlue River Township0.0 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prairie Township | 7% | 0.1 | 212 | 10% | B− |
| Jefferson Township | 2% | under 0.1 | 113 | 2% | C |
| Henry Township | 8% | 0.3 | 64 | 69% | B+ |
| Stoney Creek Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Blue River Township | under 1% | under 0.1 | 39 | 4% | C− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Prairie Township
Where can I hike in Prairie Township?
The longest trail networks: Summit Lake State Park, 2.6 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Prairie 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 Prairie Township’s trails?
Summit Lake State Park and Wilbur Wright Fish and Wildlife Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Prairie Township?
0.7 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.7 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Prairie Township?
6,645 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Prairie Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,273 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Prairie Township have?
Ahead of 48% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #206 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 Prairie 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 →