Chase Street Conservation Area
Nature preserve
78 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
C−Outdoors
Outdoors in Ross
Ross has 79 acres of parks, 12 for every 1,000 residents
38% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 2% of Ross’ land is conserved, about 74 acres.
Ahead of 23% of U.S. towns · #388 of 593 in Indiana. What drives it
Conserved land
2%
74 acres · of 5.7 sq mi of land
Trails
0.0 mi
0.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
79 ac
12 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
38%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
2.3 mi
2.3 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
5
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Ross have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Ross is ahead of 23% of U.S. towns, #388 of 593 in Indiana. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
C−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Ross’ overall grade.
Conserved land2% of the land · typical IN town 2% · U.S. 4%C+Trails0.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (0 mi) · IN 0.1 · U.S. 0.4DPark land12 acres of park per 1,000 residents (79 acres) · IN 10 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to home38% 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 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 Ross’ 2% is ahead of 57% of Indiana towns, while its trails per square mile lead 6% of them.
NoteFew parks or trails are mapped in Ross. 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 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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Oak Ridge Prairie County Park
Park
4 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
74 conserved acres
2% of Ross’ land. Who manages Ross’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Joint74 ac
Conservation Easement · 74 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 74 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
Things to do
3 places to go in Ross
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Ross
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Fishing spots in Ross
Lake County Fish and Game Protective Association
DirectionsTrails & water
5 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
2.3 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
2.3 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
5Tennis
2Baseball
1Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Ross: April, August 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.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 9.5 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.5 | 15.2 | 14.9 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.2 |
| High (°F) | 32 | 36 | 48 | 60 | 71 | 80 | 84 | 82 | 76 | 64 | 49 | 37 |
| Rain (in) | 2.2 | 2.0 | 2.3 | 3.6 | 4.2 | 4.4 | 4.2 | 4.0 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 2.8 | 2.2 |
February is the driest month (2.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 4.4 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Ross →
Next door
Ross and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ross | 2% | under 0.1 | 12 | 38% | C− |
| Gary | 9% | 1.0 | 41 | 95% | A |
| Calumet Township | 9% | 0.8 | 34 | 91% | A |
| Merrillville | 8% | 0.2 | 40 | 73% | B+ |
| Ross Township | 8% | 0.2 | 45 | 72% | B+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Ross
How much of Ross 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 Ross’ trails?
Chase Street Conservation Area and Oak Ridge Prairie County Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Ross?
2.3 miles of bike routes are on the map: 2.3 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Ross?
12,514 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Ross or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 79 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Ross have?
Ahead of 23% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #388 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 Ross 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 →