Muscatatuck County Park
Park
216 acres8 mi of trail
Blue TrailGreen TrailBlack TrailRiver Trail+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Calvin Beale · Public domainB+Outdoors
Outdoors in Vernon Township
21% of Vernon Township’s land is conserved: 4,549 acres
272 acres are parks and preserves, 95 per 1,000 residents. The biggest trail networks: Muscatatuck County Park (8 mi), Calli Nature Preserve (0.5 mi). 25% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 70% of U.S. towns · #82 of 593 in Indiana. What drives it
Conserved land
21%
4,549 acres · of 34.1 sq mi of land
Trails
9.7 mi
0.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
272 ac
95 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
25%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
16
1 beach · 8 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Vernon Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
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 70% of U.S. towns, #82 of 593 in Indiana. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Vernon Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land21% of the land · typical IN town 2% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (10 mi) · IN 0.1 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land95 acres of park per 1,000 residents (272 acres) · IN 10 · U.S. 13AParks close to home25% 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 70%
LessMore
Indiana towns of 2,500+ (593)Ahead of 86%
Few Indiana towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Vernon Township’s 21% is ahead of 98% of Indiana towns, while its trails per square mile lead 68% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B− 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 Muscatatuck County Park, with 8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Calli Nature Preserve
Nature preserve
58 acres0.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
The Commons
Park
4 acres0.4 mi of trail
Vernon Common's Lolligag Labyrinth
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto Vernon Commons Parking
Crosley Fish and Wildlife Area
Nature preserve
4,315 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 6 parks & preserves
Muscatatuck County Park216 acres · 8 mi of trail
DirectionsCalli Nature Preserve58 acres · 0.5 mi of trail
The Commons4 acres · 0.4 mi of trail
DirectionsCrosley Fish and Wildlife Area4,315 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsYard at Vernon Gym3 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · Town Of Vernon
DirectionsVernon Gym and Ball Field6 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Town of Vernon, IN
DirectionsWho protects it
4,549 conserved acres
21% of Vernon Township’s land. Who manages Vernon Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State fish & wildlife4,227 ac
Town or city259 ac
State natural resources118 ac
State Conservation Area · 4,286 acLocal Park · 259 acConservation Easement · 59 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 4 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 5 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crosley Fish And Wildlife Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 4,227 | Restricted |
| Muscatatuck Park Local Park | Town or city | 256 | Open |
| Violet And Louis J. Calli Sr. Nature Preserve State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 59 | Restricted |
| Commons Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
Things to do
20 places to go in Vernon Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Vernon Township
Muscatatuck Swimming HoleIn The Commons
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Vernon Township
South PlaygroundIn Yard at Vernon Gym
DirectionsVernon Commons PlaygroundIn The Commons
DirectionsPlus 4 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Vernon Township
8 boat launches without a name on the map.
Waterfalls in Vernon Township
2 waterfalls without a name on the map.
Scenic views in Vernon Township
Sam Calli/Rosemary Calli Memorial OverlookIn Calli Nature Preserve
DirectionsPicnic areas in Vernon Township
Courthouse Pinic Tables
DirectionsCampgrounds in Vernon Township
1 campground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
6 named trails and 16 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 5.0 miUnpaved · 4.2 mi
Blue Trail2.7 mi
Green Trail2.1 mi
Black Trail1.2 mi
River Trail0.7 mi
Connector Trail0.5 mi
Vernon Common's Lolligag Labyrinth0.1 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
2Basketball
1Soccer
1Beach volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
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 | 9.4 |
| High (°F) | 39 | 44 | 54 | 66 | 75 | 83 | 86 | 85 | 79 | 68 | 54 | 43 |
| Rain (in) | 3.4 | 3.0 | 4.1 | 5.1 | 5.4 | 5.0 | 4.4 | 3.9 | 3.3 | 3.3 | 3.7 | 3.8 |
February is the driest month (3.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 86 °F). 5.4 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Vernon Township →
Next door
Vernon Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Center Township21 miNorth Vernon10 miVernon Township9.7 miBigger Township5.3 miSpencer Township2.7 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vernon Township | 21% | 0.3 | 95 | 25% | B+ |
| Spencer Township | 10% | 0.1 | under 1 | 2% | C− |
| Center Township | 4% | 0.8 | 18 | 61% | B+ |
| Bigger Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| North Vernon | 2% | 1.3 | 13 | 73% | B |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Vernon Township
Where can I hike in Vernon Township?
The longest trail networks: Muscatatuck County Park, 8 miles; Calli Nature Preserve, 0.5 miles; The Commons, 0.4 miles; Crosley Fish and Wildlife Area, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Vernon Township is conserved land?
21% 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 County Park and Calli Nature Preserve don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Vernon Township?
1,905 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Vernon Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 272 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Vernon Township have?
Ahead of 70% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #82 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 →