White River Bend Wildlife Management Area
Managed by Indiana Department of Natural Resources
680 acres3.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Nyttend · Public domainBOutdoors
Outdoors in Washington Township
Washington Township has 688 acres of parks, 42 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: White River Bend Wildlife Management Area (3.2 mi). 5% of Washington Township’s land is conserved, about 2,125 acres. 17 miles of mapped trail cross Washington Township, 0.2 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 62% of U.S. towns · #110 of 593 in Indiana. What drives it
Conserved land
5%
2,125 acres · of 73.1 sq mi of land
Trails
17 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
688 ac
42 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
64%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
630 ft
Sefert Hill
Lakes & rivers
4
What kind of outdoors town is Washington Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Washington Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Washington Township is ahead of 62% of U.S. towns, #110 of 593 in Indiana. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Washington Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land5% of the land · typical IN town 2% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (17 mi) · IN 0.1 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land42 acres of park per 1,000 residents (688 acres) · IN 10 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home64% of residents within a half mile of a park · IN 51% · U.S. 72%B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 62%
LessMore
Indiana towns of 2,500+ (593)Ahead of 82%
Few Indiana towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Washington Township’s 5% is ahead of 78% of Indiana towns, while its trails per square mile lead 64% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to B+. 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 White River Bend WMA, with 3.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
East Side Park
Park
18 acres0.2 mi of trail
Eastside lake side walk
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Eastside Park
Park
15 acres0.1 mi of trail
Eastside lake side walk
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Playground
Park
13 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 6 parks & preserves
White River Bend Wildlife Management Area680 acres · 3.2 mi of trail · Indiana Department of Natural Resources
East Side Park18 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsEastside Park15 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsPlayground13 acres
Longfellow Park9 acres
South Side Park8 acres
Who protects it
2,125 conserved acres
5% of Washington Township’s land. Who manages Washington Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
USDA easements (NRCS)1,419 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits544 ac
State natural resources526 ac
Town or city124 ac
Private owners40 ac
Conservation Easement · 1,945 acPrivate Conservation · 544 acLocal Park · 67 acLocal Recreation Area · 56 acPrivate Park · 40 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1,419 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 2 of 18 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thousand Acre Woods Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 544 | Open |
| Gwaltney Sports Complex Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 56 | Open |
| East Side Park Local Park | Town or city | 46 | Open |
| Washington Country Club Private Park | Private owners | 40 | Open |
| Longfellow Park Local Park | Town or city | 13 | Open |
| South Side Park Local Park | Town or city | 8 | Open |
Things to do
3 places to go in Washington Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Washington Township
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Peaks in Washington Township
Sefert Hill630 ft elevation
DirectionsToms Hill476 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
4 named trails and 4 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 12.3 mi
West County Road 4501.0 mi
County Road 75 North0.7 mi
Eastside lake side walk0.6 mi
North County Road 750.1 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
4Tennis
4Pickleball
3Basketball
2Baseball
1Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →10 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
When to get out
August is the best month for walking in Washington 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 | 67 | 76 | 84 | 87 | 86 | 81 | 69 | 54 | 44 |
| Rain (in) | 3.4 | 2.8 | 3.9 | 5.0 | 5.4 | 4.7 | 4.2 | 3.2 | 3.6 | 3.5 | 3.9 | 3.5 |
February is the driest month (2.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 87 °F). 5.4 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 87 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Washington Township →
Next door
Washington Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Vigo Township43 miHarrison Township31 miWashington Township17 miSteele Township14 miSteen Township13 miVeale Township8.2 miBarr Township2.9 miHarrison Township0.0 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington Township | 5% | 0.2 | 42 | 64% | B |
| Steen Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Vigo Township | 1% | 0.6 | 16 | 72% | B− |
| Veale Township | 1% | 0.3 | under 1 | under 1% | D |
| Harrison Township | 2% | 0.4 | under 1 | under 1% | C− |
| Barr Township | 1% | under 0.1 | 60 | 10% | C |
| Steele Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Harrison 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 Washington Township
Where can I hike in Washington Township?
The longest trail networks: White River Bend Wildlife Management Area, 3.2 miles; East Side Park, 0.2 miles; Eastside Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Washington Township is conserved land?
5% 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 Washington Township’s trails?
White River Bend Wildlife Management Area and East Side Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Washington Township?
2,144 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Washington Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 688 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Washington Township have?
Ahead of 62% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #110 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 Washington 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 →