Milford State Wildlife Area
Nature preserve
2,152 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
First Territorial Capitol · Photo: David von Riesen · Public domainB+Outdoors
Outdoors in Smoky Hill Township
27% of Smoky Hill Township’s land is conserved: 9,405 acres
1,495 acres are parks and preserves, 166 per 1,000 residents. 1% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 24 miles of mapped trail cross Smoky Hill Township, 0.4 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 70% of U.S. towns · #31 of 151 in Kansas. What drives it
Conserved land
27%
9,405 acres · of 54.0 sq mi of land
Trails
24 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,495 ac
166 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
1%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.5 mi
1.5 mi lanes
Highest peak
1,299 ft
Machine Gun Ridge
Lakes & rivers
3
7 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Smoky Hill Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Smoky Hill Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Smoky Hill Township is ahead of 70% of U.S. towns, #31 of 151 in Kansas. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Smoky Hill Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land27% of the land · typical KS town 2% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (24 mi) · KS 0.2 · U.S. 0.4BPark land166 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,495 acres) · KS 13 · U.S. 13AParks close to home1% 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 70%
LessMore
Kansas towns of 2,500+ (151)Ahead of 80%
Few Kansas towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Smoky Hill Township’s 27% is ahead of 99% of Kansas towns, while its trails per square mile lead 67% of them.
Water is 12% of Smoky Hill Township’s area (7 of 61 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 24%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B− 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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
All 5 parks & preserves
Milford State Wildlife Area2,152 acres
DirectionsRolling Hills Park894 acres
DirectionsCurtis Creek Public Use Area406 acres
DirectionsThunderbird Marina & RV Resort193 acres
DirectionsKansas River K-18 Wildlife Area3 acres · Kansas Department of Wildlife & Parks
Who protects it
9,405 conserved acres
27% of Smoky Hill Township’s land. Water is left out: Smoky Hill Township has 54.0 square miles of land and 7.2 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Smoky Hill Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Army Corps of Engineers9,405 ac
Recreation Management Area · 9,405 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Milford Recreation Area Recreation Management Area | Army Corps of Engineers | 9,405 | Open |
Things to do
17 places to go in Smoky Hill Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Smoky Hill Township
7 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Smoky Hill Township
7 boat launches without a name on the map.
Peaks in Smoky Hill Township
Machine Gun Ridge1,299 ft elevation
DirectionsMacomb Hill1,296 ft elevation
DirectionsOgden Hill1,237 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
2 named trails and 3 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 7.3 mi
River Walk4.1 mi
Governor Harvey Trail1.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
1.5 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.5 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
Courts & fields
4Baseball
1Football
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →2 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 2 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The walking year in Smoky Hill 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) | 40 | 46 | 57 | 67 | 76 | 86 | 91 | 89 | 81 | 69 | 55 | 43 |
| Rain (in) | 0.8 | 1.1 | 2.0 | 3.1 | 5.1 | 4.8 | 4.4 | 4.3 | 2.7 | 2.4 | 1.5 | 1.2 |
January is the driest month (0.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 91 °F). 5.1 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 91 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Smoky Hill Township →
Next door
Smoky Hill Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Madison Township63 miMilford Township26 miSmoky Hill Township24 miNoble Township7.5 miLyon Township4.4 miJunction City3.7 miJefferson Township2.8 miFragrant Hill Township0.0 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smoky Hill Township | 27% | 0.4 | 166 | 1% | B+ |
| Junction City | 4% | 0.3 | 12 | 80% | B |
| Lyon Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Noble Township | under 1% | 0.2 | under 1 | under 1% | D |
| Milford Township | 60% | 0.6 | 1,124 | 44% | A |
| Jefferson Township | 2% | 0.1 | 14 | 80% | C+ |
| Fragrant Hill Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Madison Township | 1% | 0.4 | 1 | 10% | C− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Smoky Hill Township
How much of Smoky Hill Township is conserved land?
27% 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 Smoky Hill Township’s trails?
Milford State Wildlife Area and Rolling Hills Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Smoky Hill Township?
1.5 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.5 of painted or protected lanes.
Is there public land near Smoky Hill Township?
21,117 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Smoky Hill Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 5,501 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Smoky Hill Township have?
Ahead of 70% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #31 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 Smoky Hill 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 →