Hoosier National Forest
Managed by United States Forest Service
8,606 acres0.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Williams Bridge · Photo: Chris Light · CC BY-SA 3.0BOutdoors
Outdoors in Spice Valley Township
19% of Spice Valley Township’s land is conserved: 8,768 acres
137 acres are parks and preserves, 71 per 1,000 residents. The biggest trail networks: Hoosier National Forest (0.5 mi). 9% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 56% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
19%
8,768 acres · of 70.3 sq mi of land
Trails
8.2 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
137 ac
71 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
9%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
3.3 mi
3.3 mi paths
Highest peak
906 ft
Gobblers Knob
Lakes & rivers
1
2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Spice Valley Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Spice Valley Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Spice Valley Township is ahead of 56% of U.S. towns. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Spice Valley Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land19% of the land · typical IN town 2% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (8 mi) · IN 0.1 · U.S. 0.4CPark land71 acres of park per 1,000 residents (137 acres) · IN 10 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home9% 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 56%
LessMore
Few Indiana towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Spice Valley Township’s 19% is ahead of 98% of Indiana towns, while its trails per square mile lead 46% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A−. 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 Hoosier National Forest, with 0.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
8,768 conserved acres
19% of Spice Valley Township’s land. Who manages Spice Valley Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
U.S. Forest Service8,624 ac
State natural resources93 ac
State fish & wildlife39 ac
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service12 ac
National Forest · 8,624 acState Conservation Area · 93 acState Recreation Area · 39 acConservation Easement · 12 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 12 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hoosier National Forest National Forest | U.S. Forest Service | 8,605 | Open |
| Martin State Forest State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 93 | Open |
| Williams Dam Public Fishing Area State Recreation Area | State fish & wildlife | 38 | Open |
| Gory Hole Cave Purchase Unit National Forest | U.S. Forest Service | 19 | Open |
| Spice Valley Public Access Site State Recreation Area | State fish & wildlife | 1 | Open |
Things to do
4 places to go in Spice Valley Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Boat launches in Spice Valley Township
2 boat launches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Peaks in Spice Valley Township
Gobblers Knob906 ft elevation · In Hoosier National Forest
DirectionsSally Hill886 ft elevation · In Hoosier National Forest
DirectionsTrails & water
1 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
3.3 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
3.3 mi
off-road bike paths
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Williams BridgeStructure · listed 1981
About itWhen to get out
August is the best month for walking in Spice Valley 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 | 9.5 |
| High (°F) | 39 | 44 | 54 | 66 | 75 | 83 | 86 | 85 | 79 | 68 | 54 | 43 |
| Rain (in) | 3.6 | 3.0 | 4.3 | 5.3 | 5.7 | 5.2 | 4.4 | 3.5 | 3.6 | 3.5 | 4.0 | 3.6 |
February is the driest month (3.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 86 °F). 5.7 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Spice Valley Township →
Next door
Spice Valley Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Northwest Township17 miHalbert Township16 miMarion Township15 miSpice Valley Township8.2 miMitcheltree Township6.6 miIndian Creek Township2.7 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spice Valley Township | 19% | 0.1 | 71 | 9% | B |
| Indian Creek Township | 1% | 0.1 | 44 | 11% | C |
| Mitcheltree Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Marion Township | 3% | 0.2 | 158 | 44% | B |
| Northwest Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Halbert Township | 29% | 0.3 | 240 | 3% | B+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Spice Valley Township
Where can I hike in Spice Valley Township?
The longest trail networks: Hoosier National Forest, 0.5 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Spice Valley Township is conserved land?
19% 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 Spice Valley Township’s trails?
Hoosier National Forest doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Spice Valley Township?
3.3 miles of bike routes are on the map: 3.3 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Spice Valley Township?
38,267 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Spice Valley Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 8,832 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Spice Valley Township have?
Ahead of 56% 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 Spice Valley 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 →