Hillsdale State Park
Managed by Kansas Department of Wildlife & Parks
394 acres5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
BOutdoors
Outdoors in Richland Township
Richland Township has 521 acres of parks, 221 for every 1,000 residents
17% of Richland Township’s land is conserved, about 7,011 acres. The biggest trail networks: Hillsdale State Park (5 mi), Hillsdale Recreation Area (3.5 mi). 3% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 58% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
17%
7,011 acres · of 66.1 sq mi of land
Trails
8.8 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
521 ac
221 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
3%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
4
1 beach · 18 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Richland Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Richland Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Richland Township is ahead of 58% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Richland Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land17% of the land · typical KS town 2% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (9 mi) · KS 0.2 · U.S. 0.4CPark land221 acres of park per 1,000 residents (521 acres) · KS 13 · U.S. 13AParks close to home3% 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 58%
LessMore
Few Kansas towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Richland Township’s 17% is ahead of 98% of Kansas towns, while its trails per square mile lead 38% of them.
Water is 6% of Richland Township’s area (4 of 70 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 16%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A−. 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 Hillsdale State Park, with 5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Hillsdale Recreation Area
Managed by United States Army Corps of Engineers
6,995 acres3.5 mi of trail
Blue West Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Hillsdale State Park- Hillsdale Point Recreation Area
Managed by Kansas Department of Wildlife & Parks
96 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Who protects it
7,011 conserved acres
17% of Richland Township’s land. Water is left out: Richland Township has 66.1 square miles of land and 4.3 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Richland Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Army Corps of Engineers7,011 ac
Other state land166 ac
Recreation Management Area · 7,011 acState Park · 166 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hillsdale Recreation Area Recreation Management Area | Army Corps of Engineers | 7,011 | Open |
| Hillsdale State Park State Park | Other state land | 166 | Open |
Things to do
27 places to go in Richland Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Richland Township
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in Richland Township
Antioch Boat RampIn Hillsdale Recreation Area
DirectionsHillsdale State Park SlipwayIn Hillsdale State Park
DirectionsHillsdale State Park SlipwayIn Hillsdale State Park
DirectionsHillsdale State Park SlipwayIn Hillsdale State Park
DirectionsHillsdale State Park SlipwayIn Hillsdale State Park
DirectionsHillsdale State Park SlipwayIn Hillsdale State Park
DirectionsWade Branch Wildlife Area - Hillsdale LakeIn Hillsdale Recreation Area
DirectionsPlus 11 boat launches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Campgrounds in Richland Township
Pintail Point CampgroundIn Hillsdale State Park
DirectionsQuail Run CampgroundIn Hillsdale State Park
DirectionsRabbit Ridge CampgroundIn Hillsdale State Park
DirectionsScott's Creek CampgroundIn Hillsdale State Park
DirectionsScout and Youth CampgroundIn Hillsdale State Park
DirectionsScout and Youth CampgroundIn Hillsdale State Park
DirectionsSunflower CampgroundIn Hillsdale State Park
DirectionsYouthfront Camp West
DirectionsTrails & water
1 named trail and 4 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 8.2 miHorses · 3.4 miUnpaved · 3.6 mi
Blue West Trail3.4 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
2Beach volleyball
1Basketball
1Multi-sport
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).
Martin FarmDistrict · listed 2019
About itWhen to get out
April is the best month for walking in Richland 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) | 40 | 45 | 56 | 66 | 75 | 84 | 89 | 88 | 80 | 68 | 55 | 43 |
| Rain (in) | 1.2 | 1.5 | 2.4 | 4.0 | 5.5 | 5.3 | 4.1 | 4.1 | 4.1 | 3.2 | 2.3 | 1.7 |
January is the driest month (1.2 in) and July the warmest (highs of 89 °F). 5.5 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 89 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Richland Township →
Next door
Richland Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Marysville Township29 miMcCamish Township16 miRichland Township8.8 miFranklin Township4.4 miStanton Township2.5 miPeoria Township1.1 miGardner Township0.0 miWellsville0.0 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Richland Township | 17% | 0.1 | 221 | 3% | B |
| Marysville Township | 19% | 0.6 | 121 | 1% | B+ |
| McCamish Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Franklin Township | under 1% | 0.1 | 5 | 52% | C− |
| Stanton Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Gardner Township | under 1% | under 0.1 | 18 | 36% | C− |
| Peoria Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Wellsville | under 1% | under 0.1 | 7 | 80% | C− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Richland Township
Where can I hike in Richland Township?
The longest trail networks: Hillsdale State Park, 5 miles; Hillsdale Recreation Area, 3.5 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Richland Township is conserved land?
17% 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 Richland Township’s trails?
Hillsdale State Park and Hillsdale Recreation Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Richland Township?
12,021 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Richland Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 4,887 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Richland Township have?
Ahead of 58% 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 Richland 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 →