Hoosier National Forest
Managed by United States Forest Service
1,086 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
C−Outdoors
Outdoors in Sterling Township
Sterling Township has 9.3 miles of mapped trails, 0.2 for every square mile of land
4% of Sterling Township’s land is conserved, about 1,361 acres.
Ahead of 16% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
4%
1,361 acres · of 48.4 sq mi of land
Trails
9.3 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Near a park
under 1%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
823 ft
Tunnel Hill
Lakes & rivers
3
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Sterling Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Sterling Township is ahead of 16% 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 Sterling Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land4% of the land · typical IN town 2% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (9 mi) · IN 0.1 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land0.0 acres of park per 1,000 residents (0 acres) · IN 10 · U.S. 13DParks 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 16%
LessMore
Few Indiana towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Sterling Township’s 4% is ahead of 76% of Indiana towns, while its trails per square mile lead 58% of them.
NoteFew parks or trails are mapped in Sterling 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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Harrison-Crawford State Forest
Managed by Indiana Department of Natural Resources
276 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Who protects it
1,361 conserved acres
4% of Sterling Township’s land. Who manages Sterling Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
U.S. Forest Service1,085 ac
State natural resources276 ac
National Forest · 1,085 acState Resource Management Area · 276 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hoosier National Forest National Forest | U.S. Forest Service | 1,085 | Open |
| Harrison - Crawford State Forest State Resource Management Area | State natural resources | 276 | Open |
Things to do
3 places to go in Sterling Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Sterling Township
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Peaks in Sterling Township
Tunnel Hill823 ft elevation
DirectionsSeton Knob794 ft elevation · In Hoosier National Forest
DirectionsTrails & water
1 named trail and 3 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 1.9 miUnpaved · 1.9 mi
Governors Trace0.4 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
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
1Tennis
1Baseball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The walking year in Sterling 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) | 9.8 | 10.7 | 11.8 | 13.1 | 14.2 | 14.8 | 14.6 | 13.6 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.0 | 9.5 |
| High (°F) | 41 | 46 | 56 | 68 | 76 | 84 | 87 | 86 | 80 | 69 | 56 | 45 |
| Rain (in) | 3.7 | 3.3 | 4.7 | 5.3 | 5.6 | 4.8 | 4.5 | 3.1 | 3.6 | 3.5 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
August is the driest month (3.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 87 °F). 5.6 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 87 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Sterling Township →
Next door
Sterling Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Greenfield Township22 miJennings Township15 miSterling Township9.3 miPatoka Township6.3 miUnion Township5.0 miOhio Township1.7 miLiberty Township1.0 miWhiskey Run Township0.1 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sterling Township | 4% | 0.2 | under 1 | under 1% | C− |
| Patoka Township | 2% | 0.1 | 5 | under 1% | C− |
| Union Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Liberty Township | 2% | under 0.1 | 1 | 6% | D |
| Whiskey Run Township | 5% | under 0.1 | 175 | 22% | C+ |
| Jennings Township | 25% | 0.3 | 616 | 22% | A− |
| Ohio Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Greenfield 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 Sterling Township
How much of Sterling Township is conserved land?
4% 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 Sterling Township’s trails?
Hoosier National Forest and Harrison-Crawford State Forest don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Sterling Township?
81,543 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Sterling Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,357 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Sterling Township have?
Ahead of 16% 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 Sterling 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 →