Shadeland Recreation Center
Managed by Shadeland Parks and Recreation
5 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Huw Williams (Huwmanbeing) · Public domainDOutdoors
Outdoors in Shadeland
Few parks or trails are on the map in Shadeland
5 acres are parks and preserves, 2.6 per 1,000 residents. 3.0 miles of mapped trail cross Shadeland, 0.1 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 8% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
under 1%
31 acres · of 27.1 sq mi of land
Trails
3.0 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
5 ac
2.6 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
under 1%
of residents within ½ mile
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Shadeland have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Shadeland is ahead of 8% of U.S. towns. All four inputs are below most U.S. towns; trail miles come closest.
D
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Shadeland’s overall grade.
Conserved landunder 1% of the land · typical IN town 2% · U.S. 4%C−Trails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (3 mi) · IN 0.1 · U.S. 0.4CPark land2.6 acres of park per 1,000 residents (5 acres) · IN 10 · U.S. 13C−Parks 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 8%
LessMore
Few Indiana towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Shadeland’s under 1% is ahead of 20% of Indiana towns, while its trails per square mile lead 45% of them.
NoteFew parks or trails are mapped in Shadeland. 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 Shadeland Recreation Center, with 0.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
31 conserved acres
under 1% of Shadeland’s land. Who manages Shadeland’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits23 ac
Town or city5 ac
State natural resources3 ac
Private Conservation · 23 acLocal Park · 5 acState Conservation Area · 3 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lookout Point Site Fee Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 16 | Closed |
| Wabash Breaks Site Fee Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 6 | Closed |
| Shadeland Park & Recreation Center Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Open |
| Wea Creek Gravel Hill Prairie State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 3 | Restricted |
Things to do
3 places to go in Shadeland
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Shadeland
Mintonye Playground
DirectionsMintonye Playground
DirectionsPlus 1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Biking & sports
0.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Courts & fields
2Baseball
1Football
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →2 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.
When to get out
August is the best month for walking in Shadeland
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 | 14.8 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.9 | 9.3 |
| High (°F) | 34 | 39 | 50 | 63 | 74 | 82 | 84 | 83 | 78 | 66 | 51 | 39 |
| Rain (in) | 2.5 | 2.0 | 2.8 | 4.1 | 4.4 | 4.9 | 4.6 | 3.5 | 3.0 | 3.2 | 3.1 | 2.5 |
February is the driest month (2.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 4.9 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Shadeland →
Next door
Shadeland and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Wabash Township26 miFairfield Township15 miLafayette11 miShadeland3.0 miUnion Township3.0 miWea Township2.6 miWayne Township0.8 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shadeland | under 1% | 0.1 | 3 | under 1% | D |
| Union Township | under 1% | 0.1 | 3 | under 1% | D |
| Wabash Township | 4% | 0.5 | 10 | 84% | B |
| Wea Township | under 1% | 0.1 | 3 | 46% | C− |
| Wayne Township | 4% | under 0.1 | 51 | 17% | C+ |
| Lafayette | 4% | 0.4 | 9 | 77% | B− |
| Fairfield Township | 4% | 0.6 | 12 | 81% | B |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Shadeland
Where can I hike in Shadeland?
The longest trail networks: Shadeland Recreation Center, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Shadeland is conserved land?
under 1% 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 Shadeland’s trails?
Shadeland Recreation Center doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Shadeland?
4,303 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Shadeland or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 5 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Shadeland have?
Ahead of 8% 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 Shadeland 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 →