Gabis Arboretum at Purdue Northwest
Managed by Purdue Northwest
294 acres6.9 mi of trail
Woodcock TrailBluebird TrailPheasant TrailGoldfinch Trail+1
Dogs on leash
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
C−Outdoors
Outdoors in Union Township
Union Township has 9.6 miles of mapped trails, 0.3 for every square mile of land
The biggest trail networks: Gabis Arboretum at Purdue Northwest (6.9 mi). 12% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 19 acres are parks and preserves, 2.0 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 18% of U.S. towns · #428 of 593 in Indiana. What drives it
Conserved land
1%
174 acres · of 29.5 sq mi of land
Trails
9.6 mi
0.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
19 ac
2.0 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
12%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.4 mi
0.4 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
5
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Union Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Union Township is ahead of 18% of U.S. towns, #428 of 593 in Indiana. Trail miles hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
C−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Union Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land1% of the land · typical IN town 2% · U.S. 4%CTrails0.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (10 mi) · IN 0.1 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land2.0 acres of park per 1,000 residents (19 acres) · IN 10 · U.S. 13C−Parks close to home12% 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 18%
LessMore
Indiana towns of 2,500+ (593)Ahead of 28%
Few Indiana towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Union Township’s 1% is ahead of 40% of Indiana towns, while its trails per square mile lead 71% of them.
NoteFew parks or trails are mapped in Union 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 Gabis Arboretum at Purdue Northwest, with 6.9 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Walnut Woods Nature Preserve
Managed by Shirley Heinze Land Trust
11 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Who protects it
174 conserved acres
1% of Union Township’s land. Who manages Union Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State fish & wildlife73 ac
Other state land68 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits33 ac
State Conservation Area · 73 acConservation Easement · 68 acForest Stewardship Easement · 33 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 101 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Salt Creek Fish and Wildlife Area 3 State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 73 | Restricted |
Things to do
7 places to go in Union Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Union Township
5 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Scenic views in Union Township
Ed's OasisIn Gabis Arboretum at Purdue Northwest
DirectionsWindow on the WetlandIn Gabis Arboretum at Purdue Northwest
DirectionsTrails & water
8 named trails and 5 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 0.7 mi
Woodcock Trail1.5 mi
Bluebird Trail1.5 mi
Pheasant Trail1.1 mi
Camino Madrigal0.7 mi
Goldfinch Trail0.7 mi
Cardinal Trail0.6 mi
Owl Trail0.5 mi
Heron Trail0.3 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.4 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.4 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
10Baseball
9Tennis
2Basketball
1Soccer
1Football
1Softball
1Pickleball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Union Township: April and September
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) | 9.5 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.5 | 15.2 | 14.9 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.2 |
| High (°F) | 32 | 36 | 47 | 60 | 71 | 80 | 83 | 81 | 76 | 63 | 48 | 37 |
| Rain (in) | 2.2 | 2.0 | 2.3 | 3.6 | 4.4 | 4.4 | 4.0 | 4.3 | 3.4 | 3.6 | 2.7 | 2.2 |
February is the driest month (2.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 4.4 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Union Township →
Next door
Union Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Portage Township34 miCenter Township14 miHobart Township11 miUnion Township9.6 miRoss Township9.5 miHobart8.8 miMerrillville6.0 miPorter Township2.9 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Union Township | 1% | 0.3 | 2 | 12% | C− |
| Ross Township | 8% | 0.2 | 45 | 72% | B+ |
| Portage Township | 12% | 1.0 | 46 | 72% | A |
| Merrillville | 8% | 0.2 | 40 | 73% | B+ |
| Center Township | 5% | 0.5 | 21 | 63% | B |
| Hobart | 6% | 0.3 | 28 | 76% | B+ |
| Hobart Township | 7% | 0.4 | 24 | 87% | A− |
| Porter Township | under 1% | 0.1 | 3 | 38% | D |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Union Township
Where can I hike in Union Township?
The longest trail networks: Gabis Arboretum at Purdue Northwest, 6.9 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Union Township is conserved land?
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 Union Township’s trails?
OpenStreetMap records dogs as welcome at Gabis Arboretum at Purdue Northwest (on leash). For the rest, check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Union Township?
0.4 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.4 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Union Township?
14,513 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Union Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 19 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Union Township have?
Ahead of 18% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #428 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 Union 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 →