Ben Cash Memorial Conservation Area
Nature preserve
493 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
B−Outdoors
Outdoors in Independence Township
Independence Township has 63 miles of mapped trails, 0.6 for every square mile of land
71 acres are parks and preserves, 6.0 per 1,000 residents. 3% of Independence Township’s land is conserved, about 1,827 acres. 65% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 48% of U.S. towns · #127 of 247 in Missouri. What drives it
Conserved land
3%
1,827 acres · of 109.8 sq mi of land
Trails
63 mi
0.6 per sq mi of land
Park land
71 ac
6.0 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
65%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.1 mi
1.1 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
3
1 boat launch
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Independence Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Independence Township is ahead of 48% of U.S. towns, #127 of 247 in Missouri. Trail miles hold the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
B−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Independence Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land3% of the land · typical MO town 2% · U.S. 4%B−Trails0.6 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (63 mi) · MO 0.3 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land6.0 acres of park per 1,000 residents (71 acres) · MO 11 · U.S. 13CParks close to home65% of residents within a half mile of a park · MO 74% · U.S. 72%B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 48%
LessMore
Missouri towns of 2,500+ (247)Ahead of 49%
Few Missouri towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Independence Township’s 3% is ahead of 63% of Missouri towns, while its trails per square mile lead 71% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to B. 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.
Little River Conservation Area
Managed by Missouri Department of Conservation
459 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Indian Field Baseball Park
Managed by City of Kennett
31 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
R.H. Jones Memorial Park
Park
15 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 8 parks & preserves
Little River Conservation Area459 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Missouri Department of Conservation
DirectionsSheryl Crow Park2 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · City of Kennett
DirectionsBen Cash Memorial Conservation Area493 acres
DirectionsIndian Field Baseball Park31 acres · City of Kennett
DirectionsR.H. Jones Memorial Park15 acres
One Step Ahead Park6 acres
Delmo Park5 acres
1st Street Green1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
1,827 conserved acres
3% of Independence Township’s land. Who manages Independence Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
USDA easements (NRCS)1,091 ac
Town or city64 ac
Not recorded672 ac
Conservation Easement · 1,091 acState Conservation Area · 652 acLocal Park · 64 acPrivate Conservation · 20 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1,091 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Little River Conservation Area State Conservation Area | Not recorded | 445 | Restricted |
| Cash (Ben) Memorial Conservation Area State Conservation Area | Not recorded | 227 | Restricted |
| Indian Park Local Park | Town or city | 28 | Open |
| Jones Memorial Park Local Park | Town or city | 15 | Open |
| Oakhaven Park Local Park | Town or city | 11 | Open |
| Del-Mo Park Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Open |
| Willoughby Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
Things to do
12 places to go in Independence Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Independence Township
Jones PlaygroundIn R.H. Jones Memorial Park
DirectionsJones PlaygroundIn R.H. Jones Memorial Park
DirectionsPlus 5 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Independence Township
1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Picnic areas in Independence Township
4 picnic areas without a name on the map.
Trails & water
1 named trail and 3 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 37.5 mi
County Road 7290.5 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
1.1 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.1 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
9Baseball
7Golf
6Tennis
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The walking year in Independence 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 | 14.6 | 14.4 | 13.5 | 12.4 | 11.2 | 10.2 | 9.7 |
| High (°F) | 46 | 51 | 61 | 71 | 80 | 88 | 90 | 89 | 83 | 73 | 59 | 49 |
| Rain (in) | 3.7 | 4.0 | 4.8 | 5.2 | 5.4 | 3.8 | 4.0 | 3.2 | 3.2 | 3.9 | 4.4 | 4.8 |
September is the driest month (3.2 in) and July the warmest (highs of 90 °F). 5.4 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 90 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Independence Township →
Next door
Independence Township and its neighbors
Independence Township has the second most mapped trails of the 5 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Clay Township248 miIndependence Township63 miHolcomb Township9.2 miSalem Township8.8 miFreeborn Township3.9 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independence Township | 3% | 0.6 | 6 | 65% | B− |
| Salem Township | 4% | 0.1 | 2 | 53% | C |
| Clay Township | 6% | 2.1 | 1 | under 1% | C+ |
| Holcomb Township | under 1% | 0.2 | 77 | under 1% | C |
| Freeborn Township | under 1% | 0.1 | 1 | 64% | C− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Independence Township
Where can I hike in Independence Township?
The longest trail networks: Little River Conservation Area, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Independence Township is conserved land?
3% 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 Independence Township’s trails?
Ben Cash Memorial Conservation Area and Little River Conservation Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Independence Township?
1.1 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.1 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Independence Township?
268 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Independence Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 71 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Independence Township have?
Ahead of 48% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #127 of 247 in Missouri. 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 Independence 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 →