Horseshoe Bend Natural Area
Managed by Missouri Department of Conservation
243 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
DOutdoors
Outdoors in Piney Township
Piney Township has 8.6 miles of mapped trails, 0.1 for every square mile of land
17% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 14 acres are parks and preserves, 2.8 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 12% of U.S. towns · #224 of 247 in Missouri. What drives it
Conserved land
1%
495 acres · of 103.9 sq mi of land
Trails
8.6 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
14 ac
2.8 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
17%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
1
2 boat launches
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Piney Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Piney Township is ahead of 12% of U.S. towns, #224 of 247 in Missouri. All four inputs are below most U.S. towns; trail miles come closest.
D
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Piney Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land1% of the land · typical MO town 2% · U.S. 4%CTrails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (9 mi) · MO 0.3 · U.S. 0.4CPark land2.8 acres of park per 1,000 residents (14 acres) · MO 11 · U.S. 13C−Parks close to home17% of residents within a half mile of a park · MO 74% · U.S. 72%C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 12%
LessMore
Missouri towns of 2,500+ (247)Ahead of 9%
Few Missouri towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Piney Township’s 1% is ahead of 21% of Missouri towns, while its trails per square mile lead 23% of them.
NoteFew parks or trails are mapped in Piney 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
The longest trail network is Horseshoe Bend Natural Area, with 0.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Piney River Narrows Conservation Area
Managed by Missouri Department of Conservation
250 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Piney River Narrows Natural Area
Managed by Missouri Department of Conservation
53 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 5 parks & preserves
Horseshoe Bend Natural Area243 acres · 0.3 mi of trail · Missouri Department of Conservation
DirectionsPiney River Narrows Conservation Area250 acres · Missouri Department of Conservation
DirectionsPiney River Narrows Natural Area53 acres · Missouri Department of Conservation
Emmet Kelly Park5 acres
DirectionsDogs Bluff Access3 acres · Missouri Department of Conservation
DirectionsWho protects it
495 conserved acres
1% of Piney Township’s land. Who manages Piney Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
U.S. Forest Service4 ac
Not recorded491 ac
Private Conservation · 471 acState Recreation Area · 10 acState Other or Unknown · 9 acNational Forest · 4 acState Resource Management Area · 1 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Piney River Narrows Natural Area Private Conservation | Not recorded | 250 | Closed |
| Horseshoe Bend Natural Area Private Conservation | Not recorded | 221 | Closed |
| Boesl (L. A.) Outdoor Education Area State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 9 | Restricted |
| Mineral Springs Access State Recreation Area | Not recorded | 7 | Open |
| Mark Twain National Forest National Forest | U.S. Forest Service | 4 | Open |
| Dog's Bluff Access State Recreation Area | Not recorded | 3 | Open |
| Houston Forestry Office State Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 1 | Open |
Things to do
3 places to go in Piney Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Piney Township
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in Piney Township
Dog's Bluff Access
DirectionsMineral Springs Boat RampIn Horseshoe Bend Natural Area
DirectionsTrails & water
1 lakes & rivers
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
3Baseball
2Tennis
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
June is the best month for walking in Piney 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 | 14.2 | 14.7 | 14.5 | 13.6 | 12.4 | 11.2 | 10.1 | 9.6 |
| High (°F) | 44 | 49 | 58 | 69 | 76 | 84 | 88 | 87 | 80 | 69 | 57 | 46 |
| Rain (in) | 2.7 | 2.7 | 4.1 | 4.7 | 5.4 | 4.2 | 3.9 | 3.7 | 3.9 | 3.4 | 3.9 | 2.8 |
January is the driest month (2.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 88 °F). 5.4 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 88 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Piney Township →
Next door
Piney Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Lynch Township40 miUpton Township35 miJackson Township28 miOzark Township12 miMorris Township12 miPiney Township8.6 miCass Township2.4 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Piney Township | 1% | 0.1 | 3 | 17% | D |
| Cass Township | under 1% | under 0.1 | 6 | 1% | D |
| Lynch Township | 20% | 0.4 | 13 | 2% | B− |
| Jackson Township | 7% | 0.3 | under 1 | under 1% | C− |
| Morris Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Upton 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 Piney Township
Where can I hike in Piney Township?
The longest trail networks: Horseshoe Bend Natural Area, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Piney Township is conserved land?
1% 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 Piney Township’s trails?
Horseshoe Bend Natural Area and Piney River Narrows Conservation Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Piney Township?
19,114 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Piney Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 20 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Piney Township have?
Ahead of 12% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #224 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 Piney 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 →