Kansas River Urish Wildlife Area
Managed by Kansas Department of Wildlife & Parks
118 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
DOutdoors
Outdoors in Mission Township
Few parks or trails are on the map in Mission Township
16 acres are parks and preserves, 1.6 per 1,000 residents. 20% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 3.4 miles of mapped trail cross Mission Township, 0.1 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 9% of U.S. towns · #140 of 151 in Kansas. What drives it
Conserved land
under 1%
0 acres · of 28.0 sq mi of land
Trails
3.4 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
16 ac
1.6 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
20%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
3.5 mi
3.5 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
2
1 beach · 1 boat launch
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Mission Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Mission Township is ahead of 9% of U.S. towns, #140 of 151 in Kansas. All four inputs are below most U.S. towns; trail miles come closest.
D
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Mission Township’s overall grade.
Conserved landunder 1% of the land · typical KS town 2% · U.S. 4%DTrails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (3 mi) · KS 0.2 · U.S. 0.4CPark land1.6 acres of park per 1,000 residents (16 acres) · KS 13 · U.S. 13C−Parks close to home20% 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 9%
LessMore
Kansas towns of 2,500+ (151)Ahead of 7%
Few Kansas towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Mission Township’s under 1% is ahead of 5% of Kansas towns, while its trails per square mile lead 35% of them.
NoteFew parks or trails are mapped in Mission 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.
Kaw River State Park
Managed by Kansas Department of Wildlife & Parks
14 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trailheadWebsite ↗
Things to do
6 places to go in Mission Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Mission Township
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Mission Township
4 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Mission Township
1 boat launch without a name on the map.
Trails & water
4 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 2.2 miUnpaved · 2.2 mi
Tower Trail1.0 mi
Washburn Woods0.6 mi
Southwest Rye Terrace0.2 mi
Southwest Amber Court0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
3.5 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
3.5 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
13Tennis
6Tracks
3Baseball
2Football
2Softball
1Soccer
1Golf
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The walking year in Mission 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 | 9.4 |
| High (°F) | 39 | 45 | 56 | 66 | 76 | 85 | 89 | 88 | 80 | 68 | 55 | 43 |
| Rain (in) | 0.9 | 1.2 | 2.3 | 3.8 | 5.3 | 5.1 | 4.1 | 4.3 | 3.6 | 2.8 | 1.9 | 1.5 |
January is the driest month (0.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 89 °F). 5.3 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 89 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Mission Township →
Next door
Mission Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Topeka72 miTopeka Township7.4 miMenoken Township4.1 miMission Township3.4 miDover Township3.1 miSilver Lake Township0.2 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mission Township | under 1% | 0.1 | 2 | 20% | D |
| Topeka | 5% | 1.2 | 23 | 88% | A− |
| Dover Township | under 1% | 0.1 | under 1 | under 1% | D |
| Silver Lake Township | under 1% | under 0.1 | 2 | 44% | D |
| Menoken Township | 2% | 0.1 | 355 | 2% | C+ |
| Topeka 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 Mission Township
How much of Mission 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 Mission Township’s trails?
Kansas River Urish Wildlife Area and Kaw River State Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Mission Township?
3.5 miles of bike routes are on the map: 3.5 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Mission Township?
4,447 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Mission Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 16 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Mission Township have?
Ahead of 9% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #140 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 Mission 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 →