Wildcat Park
Park
8 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
C−Outdoors
Outdoors in Madison Township
Madison Township has 63 miles of mapped trails, 0.4 for every square mile of land
10% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 13 acres are parks and preserves, 1.4 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 18% of U.S. towns · #127 of 151 in Kansas. What drives it
Conserved land
1%
668 acres · of 141.2 sq mi of land
Trails
63 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
13 ac
1.4 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
10%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
1,348 ft
Custer Hill
Lakes & rivers
3
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Madison Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Madison Township is ahead of 18% of U.S. towns, #127 of 151 in Kansas. Trail miles hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
C−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Madison Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land1% of the land · typical KS town 2% · U.S. 4%CTrails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (63 mi) · KS 0.2 · U.S. 0.4BPark land1.4 acres of park per 1,000 residents (13 acres) · KS 13 · U.S. 13C−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 18%
LessMore
Kansas towns of 2,500+ (151)Ahead of 16%
Few Kansas towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Madison Township’s 1% is ahead of 29% of Kansas towns, while its trails per square mile lead 66% of them.
NoteFew parks or trails are mapped in Madison 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 range from D 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 Wildcat Park, with 0.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Kansas River K-18 Wildlife Area
Managed by Kansas Department of Wildlife & Parks
56 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Milford State Wildlife Area
Nature preserve
40 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
All 5 parks & preserves
Wildcat Park8 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
Kansas River K-18 Wildlife Area56 acres · Kansas Department of Wildlife & Parks
Milford State Wildlife Area40 acres
Riley City West Park3 acres
DirectionsRiley City East Park1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
668 conserved acres
1% of Madison Township’s land. Who manages Madison Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Army Corps of Engineers560 ac
Joint108 ac
Recreation Management Area · 560 acUnknown Easement · 108 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 108 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 2 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Milford Recreation Area Recreation Management Area | Army Corps of Engineers | 560 | Open |
Things to do
22 places to go in Madison Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in Madison Township
Custer Hill Aquatic Park
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Madison Township
7 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Peaks in Madison Township
Custer Hill1,348 ft elevation
DirectionsFour Way Divide1,345 ft elevation
DirectionsMorris Hill1,332 ft elevation
DirectionsRandolph Hill1,325 ft elevation
DirectionsCaisson Hill1,319 ft elevation
DirectionsHarvey Hill1,316 ft elevation
DirectionsCarpenter Hill1,312 ft elevation
DirectionsArtillery Hill1,302 ft elevation
Directions6 more peaks
Campbell Hill1,283 ft elevation
DirectionsTaylor Point1,283 ft elevation
DirectionsBattery Hill1,266 ft elevation
DirectionsSumner Hill1,217 ft elevation
DirectionsRodney Hill1,201 ft elevation
DirectionsPackers Hill1,175 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
8 named trails and 3 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 5.0 mi
14000 Road West5.3 mi
Tank trail2.2 mi
16000 Road West2.1 mi
2000 Road North1.8 mi
15600 Road West0.9 mi
5200 Road North0.7 mi
2800 Road North0.3 mi
Governor Harvey Trail0.2 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
5Basketball
5Tennis
5Baseball
1Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The walking year in Madison 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) | 39 | 45 | 56 | 66 | 76 | 86 | 90 | 88 | 81 | 68 | 54 | 42 |
| Rain (in) | 0.8 | 1.1 | 2.0 | 3.2 | 5.0 | 4.9 | 4.5 | 4.2 | 2.9 | 2.4 | 1.5 | 1.2 |
January is the driest month (0.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 90 °F). 5.0 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 90 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Madison Township →
Next door
Madison Township and its neighbors
Madison Township has the most mapped trails of the 8 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Madison Township63 miMilford Township26 miSherman Township7.3 miWildcat Township3.2 miJefferson Township2.8 miBala Township1.9 miOgden Township0.8 miOgden0.4 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Madison Township | 1% | 0.4 | 1 | 10% | C− |
| Ogden Township | under 1% | 0.1 | 42 | 73% | C+ |
| Jefferson Township | 2% | 0.1 | 14 | 80% | C+ |
| Wildcat Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Milford Township | 60% | 0.6 | 1,124 | 44% | A |
| Sherman Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Bala Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Ogden | under 1% | 0.2 | 59 | 89% | B− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Madison Township
Where can I hike in Madison Township?
The longest trail networks: Wildcat Park, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Madison Township is conserved land?
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 Madison Township’s trails?
Wildcat Park and Kansas River K-18 Wildlife Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Madison Township?
37,391 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Madison Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 15 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Madison Township have?
Ahead of 18% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #127 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 Madison 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 →