Sand Hills State Park
Managed by Kansas Department of Wildlife & Parks
88 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trailheadWebsite ↗
COutdoors
Outdoors in Clay Township
Clay Township has 98 acres of parks, 59 for every 1,000 residents
10% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 5.9 miles of mapped trail cross Clay Township, 0.2 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 32% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
under 1%
53 acres · of 30.0 sq mi of land
Trails
5.9 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
98 ac
59 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
10%
of residents within ½ mile
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Clay Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Clay Township is ahead of 32% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
C
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Clay Township’s overall grade.
Conserved landunder 1% of the land · typical KS town 2% · U.S. 4%C−Trails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (6 mi) · KS 0.2 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land59 acres of park per 1,000 residents (98 acres) · KS 13 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home10% of residents within a half mile of a park · KS 76% · U.S. 72%D
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 32%
LessMore
Few Kansas towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Clay Township’s under 1% is ahead of 23% of Kansas towns, while its trails per square mile lead 46% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C− 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 Sand Hills State Park, with 0.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
53 conserved acres
under 1% of Clay Township’s land. Who manages Clay Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State parks51 ac
Town or city3 ac
State Park · 51 acLocal Park · 3 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sandhills State Park State Park | State parks | 51 | Open |
| Rivers Banks Orchard Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Carey Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
1 places to go in Clay Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Campgrounds in Clay Township
Sand Hills State Park CampgroundIn Sand Hills State Park
DirectionsBiking & 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
9Golf
4Tennis
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
April is the best month for walking in Clay 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) | 9.8 | 10.7 | 11.8 | 13.1 | 14.2 | 14.8 | 14.6 | 13.6 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.1 | 9.5 |
| High (°F) | 44 | 48 | 58 | 68 | 77 | 88 | 93 | 91 | 83 | 70 | 56 | 45 |
| Rain (in) | 0.8 | 1.1 | 2.2 | 2.6 | 4.9 | 4.4 | 3.8 | 3.7 | 2.4 | 2.6 | 1.5 | 1.1 |
January is the driest month (0.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 93 °F). 4.9 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 93 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Clay Township →
Next door
Clay Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Medora Township15 miHutchinson11 miValley Township9.7 miClay Township5.9 miReno Township5.7 miYoder Township2.8 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clay Township | under 1% | 0.2 | 59 | 10% | C |
| Hutchinson | 4% | 0.4 | 21 | 70% | B |
| Yoder Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Medora Township | 6% | 0.5 | 922 | 13% | B+ |
| Valley Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Reno Township | under 1% | 0.2 | 34 | 40% | C+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Clay Township
Where can I hike in Clay Township?
The longest trail networks: Sand Hills State Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Clay 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 Clay Township’s trails?
Sand Hills State Park and Dillon Nature Center don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Clay Township?
2,182 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Clay Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 98 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Clay Township have?
Ahead of 32% 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 Clay 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 →