Ben Cash Memorial Conservation Area
Nature preserve
1,197 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
COutdoors
Outdoors in Salem Township
Salem Township has 8.8 miles of mapped trails, 0.1 for every square mile of land
4 acres are parks and preserves, 1.8 per 1,000 residents. 53% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 4% of Salem Township’s land is conserved, about 1,676 acres.
Ahead of 29% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
4%
1,676 acres · of 67.3 sq mi of land
Trails
8.8 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
4 ac
1.8 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
53%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
2
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Salem Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Salem Township is ahead of 29% of U.S. towns. Conserved land holds the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
C
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Salem Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land4% of the land · typical MO town 2% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (9 mi) · MO 0.3 · U.S. 0.4CPark land1.8 acres of park per 1,000 residents (4 acres) · MO 11 · U.S. 13C−Parks close to home53% 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 29%
LessMore
Few Missouri towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Salem Township’s 4% is ahead of 76% of Missouri towns, while its trails per square mile lead 32% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C− 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.
Who protects it
1,676 conserved acres
4% of Salem Township’s land. Who manages Salem Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
USDA easements (NRCS)363 ac
Not recorded1,313 ac
State Conservation Area · 1,310 acConservation Easement · 363 acPrivate Conservation · 3 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 363 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cash (Ben) Memorial Conservation Area State Conservation Area | Not recorded | 943 | Restricted |
| Cash Swamp Natural Area State Conservation Area | Not recorded | 370 | Restricted |
Things to do
1 places to go in Salem Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Salem Township
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
2 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
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The walking year in Salem 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) | 10.0 | 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) | 3.8 | 4.1 | 4.8 | 5.2 | 5.6 | 3.8 | 4.0 | 3.3 | 3.2 | 3.9 | 4.5 | 4.7 |
September is the driest month (3.2 in) and July the warmest (highs of 90 °F). 5.6 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 90 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Salem Township →
Next door
Salem Township and its neighbors
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salem Township | 4% | 0.1 | 2 | 53% | C |
| Independence Township | 3% | 0.6 | 6 | 65% | B− |
| Clay Township | 6% | 2.1 | 1 | under 1% | C+ |
| Buffalo Township | 6% | 0.7 | under 1 | under 1% | C |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Salem Township
Where can I hike in Salem Township?
The longest trail networks: Williamson Park, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Salem Township is conserved land?
4% 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 Salem Township’s trails?
Ben Cash Memorial Conservation Area and Williamson Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Salem Township?
10,667 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Salem Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 4 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Salem Township have?
Ahead of 29% 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 Salem 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 →