Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Photo: dok1 · CC BY 2.033% of Benton Township’s land is conserved, about 8,105 acres. 48 miles of mapped trail cross Benton Township, 1.3 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Pike Lake State Park (5.3 mi).
Ahead of 90% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Benton Township is ahead of 90% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
The longest trail network is Pike Lake State Park, with 5.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
33% of Benton Township’s land. Who manages Benton Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pike State Forest State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 7,428 | Open |
| Pike Lake State Park State Park | State natural resources | 426 | Open |
| Plum Run Prairie/Morgan's Fork Woods/Rocky Fork Creek Acquisitions Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 150 | Open |
| Morgan Fork II And Rock Run Iv Acquisitions Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 117 | Open |
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
3 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
1 boat launch without a name on the map.
1 campground without a name on the map.
1 disc golf course without a name on the map.
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
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 | 14.7 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.0 | 9.4 |
| High (°F) | 39 | 43 | 52 | 65 | 74 | 81 | 84 | 83 | 78 | 66 | 53 | 43 |
| Rain (in) | 3.1 | 3.1 | 3.9 | 4.2 | 4.7 | 4.5 | 4.3 | 3.3 | 3.2 | 3.0 | 2.9 | 3.5 |
November is the driest month (2.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 4.7 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Benton Township →
Benton Township has the most mapped trails of the 5 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Benton Township | 33% | 1.3 | 6,782 | 28% | A |
| Mifflin Township | 14% | 0.6 | 2,811 | 49% | A |
| Pebble Township | under 1% | 0.1 | under 1 | under 1% | D |
| Sunfish Township | under 1% | 0.2 | under 1 | 2% | D |
| Perry 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.
The longest trail networks: Pike Lake State Park, 5.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
33% of its land, against a typical 3% for an Ohio town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Pike Lake State Park doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
28,773 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Benton Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 8,153 of them inside the town line.
Ahead of 90% 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.
Conditions, parking and favorite walks from Benton Township neighbors.
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 →