Muscatatuck National Wildlife Refuge
Nature preserve
4 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Calvin Beale · Public domainDOutdoors
Outdoors in Vernon Township
6% of Vernon Township’s land is conserved: 1,752 acres
2.1 miles of mapped trail cross Vernon Township.
Ahead of 13% of U.S. towns · #473 of 593 in Indiana. What drives it
Conserved land
6%
1,752 acres · of 43.0 sq mi of land
Trails
2.1 mi
0.0 per sq mi of land
Near a park
under 1%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
1
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Vernon Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Vernon Township is ahead of 13% of U.S. towns, #473 of 593 in Indiana. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
D
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Vernon Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land6% of the land · typical IN town 2% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (2 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 13%
LessMore
Indiana towns of 2,500+ (593)Ahead of 20%
Few Indiana towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Vernon Township’s 6% is ahead of 85% of Indiana towns, while its trails per square mile lead 32% of them.
NoteFew parks or trails are mapped in Vernon 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.
Who protects it
1,752 conserved acres
6% of Vernon Township’s land. Who manages Vernon Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
USDA easements (NRCS)1,750 ac
Conservation Easement · 1,748 acOther Easement · 2 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1,751 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
Trails & water
3 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
East County Road 740 South0.7 mi
South County Road 850 East0.5 mi
East County Road 800 South0.5 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
When to get out
August is the best month for walking in Vernon 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) | 40 | 45 | 55 | 67 | 76 | 83 | 87 | 86 | 80 | 68 | 55 | 44 |
| Rain (in) | 3.4 | 3.0 | 4.3 | 4.9 | 5.2 | 4.8 | 4.2 | 3.7 | 3.3 | 3.3 | 3.6 | 3.8 |
February is the driest month (3.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 87 °F). 5.2 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 87 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Vernon Township →
Next door
Vernon Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Finley Township23 miGibson Township18 miGrassy Fork Township3.0 miMarion Township2.5 miVernon Township2.1 miWashington Township0.9 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vernon Township | 6% | under 0.1 | under 1 | under 1% | D |
| Washington Township | 2% | under 0.1 | under 1 | under 1% | D |
| Grassy Fork Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Gibson Township | 20% | 0.3 | 3,463 | 39% | A− |
| Finley Township | 26% | 0.6 | 12 | under 1% | B− |
| Marion Township | 2% | 0.1 | 31 | 1% | C |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Vernon Township
How much of Vernon Township is conserved land?
6% 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 Vernon Township’s trails?
Muscatatuck National Wildlife Refuge doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Vernon Township?
26,219 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Vernon Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), almost none of it inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Vernon Township have?
Ahead of 13% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #473 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 Vernon 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 →