Shoal Creek Wildlife Area
Managed by Kansas Department of Wildlife & Parks
36 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Williams' Store · Photo: AbeEzekowitz · CC BY-SA 3.0DOutdoors
Outdoors in Garden Township
Few parks or trails are on the map in Garden Township
12% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 0.8 miles of mapped trail cross Garden Township. 8 acres are parks and preserves, 2.8 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 7% of U.S. towns · #145 of 151 in Kansas. What drives it
Conserved land
under 1%
5 acres · of 28.9 sq mi of land
Trails
0.8 mi
0.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
8 ac
2.8 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
12%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
3
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Garden Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Garden Township is ahead of 7% of U.S. towns, #145 of 151 in Kansas. All four inputs are below most U.S. towns; park acres per resident come closest.
D
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Garden Township’s overall grade.
Conserved landunder 1% of the land · typical KS town 2% · U.S. 4%DTrails0.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · KS 0.2 · U.S. 0.4C−Park land2.8 acres of park per 1,000 residents (8 acres) · KS 13 · U.S. 13C−Parks close to home12% 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 7%
LessMore
Kansas towns of 2,500+ (151)Ahead of 4%
Few Kansas towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Garden Township’s under 1% is ahead of 5% of Kansas towns, while its trails per square mile lead 13% of them.
NoteFew parks or trails are mapped in Garden Township. OpenStreetMap is mapped by volunteers and coverage varies from town to town, so a town with unmapped parks scores low on them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would still be D. 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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
5 conserved acres
under 1% of Garden Township’s land. Who manages Garden Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city5 ac
Local Recreation Area · 5 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unknown Ball Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 5 | Open |
Trails & water
3 lakes & rivers
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
2Baseball
1Football
1Softball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Williams' StoreBuilding · listed 2003
About itWhen to get out
The walking year in Garden 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) | 9.9 | 10.8 | 11.9 | 13.1 | 14.1 | 14.7 | 14.5 | 13.6 | 12.4 | 11.2 | 10.1 | 9.6 |
| High (°F) | 45 | 51 | 60 | 70 | 77 | 86 | 91 | 90 | 82 | 71 | 59 | 49 |
| Rain (in) | 2.0 | 2.0 | 3.3 | 4.8 | 6.5 | 5.2 | 3.8 | 3.7 | 4.4 | 3.9 | 3.3 | 2.4 |
February is the driest month (2.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 91 °F). 6.5 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 91 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Garden Township →
Next door
Garden Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Lowell Township1.1 miGalena1.0 miGarden Township0.8 miSpring Valley Township0.3 miBaxter Springs0.1 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Garden Township | under 1% | under 0.1 | 3 | 12% | D |
| Galena | 1% | 0.2 | 19 | 51% | C+ |
| Spring Valley Township | under 1% | under 0.1 | 4 | 9% | D |
| Baxter Springs | 3% | under 0.1 | 16 | 62% | C+ |
| Lowell 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 Garden Township
How much of Garden 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 Garden Township’s trails?
Shoal Creek Wildlife Area doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Garden Township?
1,156 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Garden Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 8 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Garden Township have?
Ahead of 7% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #145 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 Garden 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 →