Morgan-Monroe State Forest
Managed by Indiana Department of Natural Resources
4,436 acres7.7 mi of trail
Three Lakes TrailShelterhouse Connector
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: Vmenkov · CC BY-SA 3.0BOutdoors
Outdoors in Washington Township
23% of Washington Township’s land is conserved: 5,087 acres
128 acres are parks and preserves, 71 per 1,000 residents. The biggest trail networks: Morgan-Monroe State Forest (7.7 mi), Beanblossom Bottoms Nature Preserve (1.9 mi). 1% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 64% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
23%
5,087 acres · of 34.3 sq mi of land
Trails
12 mi
0.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
128 ac
71 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
1%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
9.9 mi
1.2 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
2
1 boat launch
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 64% of U.S. towns. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Washington Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land23% of the land · typical IN town 2% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (12 mi) · IN 0.1 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land71 acres of park per 1,000 residents (128 acres) · IN 10 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home1% 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 64%
LessMore
Few Indiana towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Washington Township’s 23% is ahead of 98% of Indiana towns, while its trails per square mile lead 71% 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 Morgan-Monroe State Forest, with 7.7 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Beanblossom Bottoms Nature Preserve
Managed by Sycamore Land Trust
358 acres1.9 mi of trail
Jeff Richardson Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Muscatatuck National Wildlife Refuge
Nature preserve
76 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto Muscatatuck National Wildlife
Who protects it
5,087 conserved acres
23% of Washington Township’s land. Who manages Washington Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources4,659 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits351 ac
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service156 ac
Joint140 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)40 ac
State Resource Management Area · 4,659 acState Conservation Area · 351 acConservation Easement · 180 acNational Wildlife Refuge · 156 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Morgan - Monroe State Forest State Resource Management Area | State natural resources | 4,659 | Open |
| Beanblossom Bottoms State Conservation Area | Land trusts & nonprofits | 306 | Open |
| Muscatatuck National Wildlife Refuge National Wildlife Refuge | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 156 | Restricted |
| Restle Natural Area State Conservation Area | Land trusts & nonprofits | 45 | Restricted |
Things to do
5 places to go in Washington Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Boat launches in Washington Township
1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Scenic views in Washington Township
4 scenic views without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
3 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 3.8 mi
Three Lakes Trail1.7 mi
Jeff Richardson Trail1.0 mi
Shelterhouse Connector0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
9.9 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.2 mi
off-road bike paths
8.8 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
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 | 14.7 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.0 | 9.4 |
| High (°F) | 37 | 41 | 52 | 64 | 74 | 82 | 85 | 84 | 78 | 66 | 52 | 41 |
| Rain (in) | 3.3 | 2.6 | 3.6 | 4.8 | 4.9 | 5.0 | 4.5 | 3.4 | 3.4 | 3.6 | 3.7 | 3.2 |
February is the driest month (2.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 85 °F). 5.0 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Washington Township →
Next door
Washington Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Benton Township39 miBloomington Township23 miWashington Township12 miBean Blossom Township0.8 miBaker 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 | 23% | 0.3 | 71 | 1% | B |
| Bloomington Township | 8% | 0.6 | 44 | 88% | A |
| Bean Blossom Township | 2% | under 0.1 | 27 | 2% | C |
| Baker Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Benton Township | 38% | 0.7 | 258 | 22% | A− |
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: Morgan-Monroe State Forest, 7.7 miles; Beanblossom Bottoms Nature Preserve, 1.9 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Washington Township is conserved land?
23% 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?
Morgan-Monroe State Forest and Beanblossom Bottoms Nature Preserve don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Washington Township?
9.9 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.2 of off-road paths and 8.8 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Washington Township?
48,577 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Washington Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 4,955 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Washington Township have?
Ahead of 64% 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 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 →