Gist Ranch Conservation Area
Managed by Missouri Department of Conservation
652 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
DOutdoors
Outdoors in Carroll Township
Few parks or trails are on the map in Carroll Township
2.9 miles of mapped trail cross Carroll Township, 0.1 per square mile of land. 2% of Carroll Township’s land is conserved, about 734 acres.
Ahead of 9% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
2%
734 acres · of 46.3 sq mi of land
Trails
2.9 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Near a park
under 1%
of residents within ½ mile
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Carroll Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Carroll Township is ahead of 9% of U.S. towns. All four inputs are below most U.S. towns; conserved land comes closest.
D
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Carroll Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land2% of the land · typical MO town 2% · U.S. 4%B−Trails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (3 mi) · MO 0.3 · U.S. 0.4C−Park land0.0 acres of park per 1,000 residents (0 acres) · MO 11 · U.S. 13DParks close to home0% of residents within a half mile of a park · MO 74% · U.S. 72%D−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 9%
LessMore
Few Missouri towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Carroll Township’s 2% is ahead of 61% of Missouri towns, while its trails per square mile lead 21% of them.
NoteFew parks or trails are mapped in Carroll 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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Midvale Conservation Area
Managed by Missouri Department of Conservation
77 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Who protects it
734 conserved acres
2% of Carroll Township’s land. Who manages Carroll Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Not recorded734 ac
State Conservation Area · 734 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gist Ranch Conservation Area State Conservation Area | Not recorded | 650 | Restricted |
| Midvale Conservation Area State Conservation Area | Not recorded | 83 | Restricted |
When to get out
June is the best month for walking in Carroll 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) | 43 | 49 | 58 | 68 | 76 | 83 | 88 | 87 | 80 | 69 | 57 | 46 |
| Rain (in) | 2.8 | 2.9 | 4.3 | 5.0 | 5.6 | 4.0 | 4.1 | 3.7 | 3.9 | 3.5 | 4.3 | 3.0 |
January is the driest month (2.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 88 °F). 5.6 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 88 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Carroll Township →
Next door
Carroll Township and its neighbors
Carroll Township has the second most mapped trails of the 4 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carroll Township | 2% | 0.1 | under 1 | under 1% | D |
| Current Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Date Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Ozark 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 Carroll Township
How much of Carroll Township is conserved land?
2% of its land, against a typical 2% for a Missouri town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Carroll Township’s trails?
Gist Ranch Conservation Area and Midvale Conservation Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Carroll Township?
6,137 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Carroll Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), almost none of it inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Carroll Township have?
Ahead of 9% 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 Carroll 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 →