Muscatatuck National Wildlife Refuge
Nature preserve
3,038 acres2 mi of trail
Hunt-Richart TrailWood Duck TrailBarkman TrailNorth County Road 1300 East+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
C−Outdoors
Outdoors in Spencer Township
10% of Spencer Township’s land is conserved: 3,110 acres
The biggest trail networks: Muscatatuck National Wildlife Refuge (2 mi). 1 acre is park or preserve, 0.5 per 1,000 residents. 2.7 miles of mapped trail cross Spencer Township, 0.1 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 20% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
10%
3,110 acres · of 48.9 sq mi of land
Trails
2.7 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
1 ac
0.5 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
2%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
4
What kind of outdoors town is Spencer Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Spencer Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Spencer Township is ahead of 20% of U.S. towns. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
C−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Spencer Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land10% of the land · typical IN town 2% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (3 mi) · IN 0.1 · U.S. 0.4C−Park land0.5 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1 acre) · IN 10 · U.S. 13DParks close to home2% 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 20%
LessMore
Few Indiana towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Spencer Township’s 10% is ahead of 92% of Indiana towns, while its trails per square mile lead 34% of them.
NoteFew parks or trails are mapped in Spencer Township. 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 Muscatatuck National Wildlife Refuge, with 2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Sharps Woods
Park
1 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
3,110 conserved acres
10% of Spencer Township’s land. Who manages Spencer Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service6,046 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)85 ac
National Wildlife Refuge · 6,046 acConservation Easement · 85 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 85 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Muscatatuck National Wildlife Refuge National Wildlife Refuge | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 6,046 | Restricted |
Things to do
1 places to go in Spencer Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Scenic views in Spencer Township
Hackman OverlookIn Muscatatuck National Wildlife Refuge
DirectionsTrails & water
6 named trails and 4 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Hunt-Richart Trail0.9 mi
Wood Duck Trail0.5 mi
West County Road 300 South0.4 mi
Barkman Trail0.2 mi
North County Road 1300 East0.2 mi
Discovery Pond Trail0.2 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
When to get out
August is the best month for walking in Spencer 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) | 9.7 | 10.7 | 11.8 | 13.2 | 14.3 | 14.9 | 14.6 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.0 | 9.4 |
| High (°F) | 39 | 44 | 54 | 66 | 75 | 83 | 86 | 85 | 79 | 68 | 54 | 43 |
| Rain (in) | 3.4 | 2.9 | 4.1 | 5.0 | 5.3 | 5.0 | 4.4 | 3.9 | 3.3 | 3.4 | 3.7 | 3.7 |
February is the driest month (2.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 86 °F). 5.3 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Spencer Township →
Next door
Spencer Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Center Township21 miVernon Township9.7 miJackson Township7.9 miRedding Township6.2 miSpencer Township2.7 miMarion Township2.5 miGeneva Township2.3 miCountry Squire Lakes0.2 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spencer Township | 10% | 0.1 | under 1 | 2% | C− |
| Marion Township | 2% | 0.1 | 31 | 1% | C |
| Vernon Township | 21% | 0.3 | 95 | 25% | B+ |
| Jackson Township | 20% | 0.2 | 5 | 64% | B− |
| Geneva Township | under 1% | under 0.1 | 27 | 33% | C− |
| Center Township | 4% | 0.8 | 18 | 61% | B+ |
| Country Squire Lakes | under 1% | 0.1 | 3 | 57% | C− |
| Redding Township | 1% | 0.2 | 19 | 16% | C |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Spencer Township
Where can I hike in Spencer Township?
The longest trail networks: Muscatatuck National Wildlife Refuge, 2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Spencer Township is conserved land?
10% 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 Spencer Township’s trails?
Muscatatuck National Wildlife Refuge and Sharps Woods don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Spencer Township?
3,846 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Spencer Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Spencer Township have?
Ahead of 20% 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 Spencer 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 →