Purdue Wildlife Area
Managed by Purdue University
278 acres4.8 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
B−Outdoors
Outdoors in Shelby Township
Shelby Township has 457 acres of parks, 181 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Purdue Wildlife Area (4.8 mi), Ross Hills Park (1.7 mi), Martell Forest (1 mi). 18% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 2% of Shelby Township’s land is conserved, about 729 acres.
Ahead of 47% of U.S. towns · #219 of 593 in Indiana. What drives it
Conserved land
2%
729 acres · of 53.5 sq mi of land
Trails
11 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
457 ac
181 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
18%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.9 mi
0.9 mi paths
What kind of outdoors town is Shelby Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Shelby Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Shelby Township is ahead of 47% of U.S. towns, #219 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 Shelby Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land2% of the land · typical IN town 2% · U.S. 4%C+Trails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (11 mi) · IN 0.1 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land181 acres of park per 1,000 residents (457 acres) · IN 10 · U.S. 13AParks close to home18% 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 47%
LessMore
Indiana towns of 2,500+ (593)Ahead of 63%
Few Indiana towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Shelby Township’s 2% is ahead of 56% of Indiana towns, while its trails per square mile lead 60% 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 Purdue Wildlife Area, with 4.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Ross Hills Park
Park
355 acres1.7 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trailheadWebsite ↗
Martell Forest
Managed by Purdue University
480 acres1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Mulvey Pond
Nature preserve
52 acres1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 9 parks & preserves
Purdue Wildlife Area278 acres · 4.8 mi of trail · Purdue University
Ross Hills Park355 acres · 1.7 mi of trail
DirectionsMartell Forest480 acres · 1 mi of trail · Purdue University
DirectionsMulvey Pond52 acres · 1 mi of trail
Wabash Bottoms107 acres
DirectionsIndian Creek Basin57 acres
Potowatomi Trail32 acres
Granville Park21 acres
Otterbein Town Park2 acres
Who protects it
729 conserved acres
2% of Shelby Township’s land. Who manages Shelby Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County373 ac
Private owners150 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)138 ac
Joint67 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits41 ac
State Recreation Area · 350 acConservation Easement · 206 acPrivate Park · 150 acState Conservation Area · 41 acLocal Park · 23 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 164 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ross Camp and Ross Hills State Recreation Area | County | 350 | Open |
| Ravines Golf Course Private Park | Private owners | 150 | Open |
| Wabash Bottoms State Conservation Area | Land trusts & nonprofits | 41 | Open |
| Granville Park Local Park | County | 23 | Open |
Things to do
6 places to go in Shelby Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Shelby Township
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Waterfalls in Shelby Township
1 waterfall without a name on the map.
Scenic views in Shelby Township
4 scenic views without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Biking & sports
0.9 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.9 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
1Volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The walking year in Shelby 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 | 14.8 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.9 | 9.3 |
| High (°F) | 34 | 38 | 50 | 63 | 74 | 82 | 84 | 83 | 78 | 65 | 50 | 38 |
| Rain (in) | 2.3 | 2.0 | 2.7 | 4.0 | 4.4 | 5.0 | 4.5 | 3.6 | 3.1 | 3.1 | 3.0 | 2.4 |
February is the driest month (2.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 5.0 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Shelby Township →
Next door
Shelby Township and its neighbors
Shelby Township has the second most mapped trails of the 5 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Wabash Township26 miShelby Township11 miWarren Township3.1 miWayne Township0.8 miBolivar Township0.0 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shelby Township | 2% | 0.2 | 181 | 18% | B− |
| Wayne Township | 4% | under 0.1 | 51 | 17% | C+ |
| Wabash Township | 4% | 0.5 | 10 | 84% | B |
| Bolivar Township | under 1% | under 0.1 | 1 | 67% | D |
| Warren Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Shelby Township
Where can I hike in Shelby Township?
The longest trail networks: Purdue Wildlife Area, 4.8 miles; Ross Hills Park, 1.7 miles; Martell Forest, 1 miles; Mulvey Pond, 1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Shelby Township 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 Shelby Township’s trails?
Purdue Wildlife Area and Ross Hills Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Shelby Township?
0.9 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.9 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Shelby Township?
4,243 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Shelby Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 457 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Shelby Township have?
Ahead of 47% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #219 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 Shelby 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 →