Dr. Howard Reynolds Nature Trails
Park
23 acres1.5 mi of trail
ChetolahPrairie CrossingOxbow LoopCactus Ridge+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Gallagher House · Photo: Ammodramus · CC0COutdoors
Outdoors in Big Creek Township
Big Creek Township has 304 acres of parks, 117 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Dr. Howard Reynolds Nature Trails (1.5 mi), Vineyard Park Nature Area (1.4 mi). 25% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 26 miles of mapped trail cross Big Creek Township, 0.1 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 34% of U.S. towns · #110 of 151 in Kansas. What drives it
Conserved land
under 1%
232 acres · of 218.3 sq mi of land
Trails
26 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
304 ac
117 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
25%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.0 mi
1.0 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
2
What kind of outdoors town is Big Creek Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Big Creek Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Big Creek Township is ahead of 34% of U.S. towns, #110 of 151 in Kansas. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
C
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Big Creek Township’s overall grade.
Conserved landunder 1% of the land · typical KS town 2% · U.S. 4%C−Trails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (26 mi) · KS 0.2 · U.S. 0.4CPark land117 acres of park per 1,000 residents (304 acres) · KS 13 · U.S. 13AParks close to home25% of residents within a half mile of a park · KS 76% · U.S. 72%C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 34%
LessMore
Kansas towns of 2,500+ (151)Ahead of 27%
Few Kansas towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Big Creek Township’s under 1% is ahead of 17% of Kansas towns, while its trails per square mile lead 33% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C− 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 Dr. Howard Reynolds Nature Trails, with 1.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Vineyard Park Nature Area
Park
54 acres1.4 mi of trail
Long LoopShort Loop
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Bickle-Schmidt Sports Complex
Park
174 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Who protects it
232 conserved acres
under 1% of Big Creek Township’s land. Who manages Big Creek Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city181 ac
Other state land51 ac
Local Recreation Area · 152 acLocal Park · 58 acState Historic or Cultural Area · 16 acLocal Conservation Area · 6 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bickle-Schmidt Sports Complex Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 123 | Open |
| Vineyard Park Local Park | Town or city | 58 | Open |
| Dr. Howard Reynolds Nature Trails Local Recreation Area | Other state land | 28 | Open |
| Fort Hays State Historic Site State Historic or Cultural Area | Other state land | 16 | Open |
| Custer Island Park Local Conservation Area | Other state land | 6 | Open |
Things to do
3 places to go in Big Creek Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Big Creek Township
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Big Creek Township
Hays Dog ParkIn Bickle-Schmidt Sports Complex
DirectionsTrails & water
7 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 3.9 mi
Long Loop0.8 mi
Chetolah0.4 mi
Prairie Crossing0.4 mi
Oxbow Loop0.2 mi
Cactus Ridge0.2 mi
Monument Meadow0.1 mi
Short Loop0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
1.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.0 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
8Baseball
6Soccer
2Football
1Equestrian
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →2 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 1 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
April is the best month for walking in Big Creek 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) | 43 | 47 | 58 | 67 | 77 | 88 | 93 | 90 | 83 | 69 | 56 | 44 |
| Rain (in) | 0.6 | 0.8 | 1.3 | 2.1 | 3.8 | 3.4 | 3.9 | 3.4 | 2.0 | 1.7 | 0.9 | 0.9 |
January is the driest month (0.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 93 °F). 3.9 inches fall in July, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 93 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Big Creek Township →
Next door
Big Creek Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Buckeye Township66 miOgallah Township54 miHerzog Township54 miBig Creek Township26 miHampton-Fairview Township13 miFreedom Township11 miHays6.1 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Big Creek Township | under 1% | 0.1 | 117 | 25% | C |
| Buckeye Township | under 1% | 0.2 | 4 | under 1% | D |
| Ogallah Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Freedom Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Herzog Township | under 1% | 0.3 | 2 | 52% | C− |
| Hays | 3% | 0.7 | 11 | 96% | B+ |
| Hampton-Fairview 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 Big Creek Township
Where can I hike in Big Creek Township?
The longest trail networks: Dr. Howard Reynolds Nature Trails, 1.5 miles; Vineyard Park Nature Area, 1.4 miles; Bickle-Schmidt Sports Complex, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Big Creek Township is conserved land?
under 1% of its land, against a typical 2% for a Kansas town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Big Creek Township’s trails?
Dr. Howard Reynolds Nature Trails and Vineyard Park Nature Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Big Creek Township?
1.0 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.0 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Big Creek Township?
3,003 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Big Creek Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 304 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Big Creek Township have?
Ahead of 34% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #110 of 151 in Kansas. 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 Big Creek 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 →