Charles Alley Nature Park
Managed by City of Lancaster
297 acres6.7 mi of trail
Alley TrailBackhand TrailBuck Run TrailRidge Trail+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: Nyttend · Public domainB−Outdoors
Outdoors in Berne Township
Berne Township has 559 acres of parks, 110 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Charles Alley Nature Park (6.7 mi), Wahkeena Nature Preserve (1.5 mi), Rhododendron Cove State Nature Preserve (1.2 mi). 18% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 12 miles of mapped trail cross Berne Township, 0.3 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 51% of U.S. towns · #513 of 993 in Ohio. What drives it
Conserved land
3%
882 acres · of 44.0 sq mi of land
Trails
12 mi
0.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
559 ac
110 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
18%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
3.6 mi
Highest peak
1,004 ft
Buck Run Knob
Lakes & rivers
11
1 beach
What kind of outdoors town is Berne Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Berne Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Berne Township is ahead of 51% of U.S. towns, #513 of 993 in Ohio. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Berne Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land3% of the land · typical OH town 3% · U.S. 4%B−Trails0.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (12 mi) · OH 0.2 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land110 acres of park per 1,000 residents (559 acres) · OH 15 · U.S. 13AParks close to home18% of residents within a half mile of a park · OH 60% · U.S. 72%C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 51%
LessMore
Ohio towns of 2,500+ (993)Ahead of 48%
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
The longest trail network is Charles Alley Nature Park, with 6.7 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Wahkeena Nature Preserve
Managed by Fairfield County Park District
147 acres1.5 mi of trail
Rhododendron Cove Blue Loop TrailPond Loop
No dogs
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Rhododendron Cove State Nature Preserve
Managed by Ohio Department of Natural Resources
75 acres1.2 mi of trail
Rhododendron Cove Orange Loop TrailRhododendron Cove Blue Loop Trail
No dogs
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Hintz Hollow Preserve
Managed by Appalachia Ohio Alliance
171 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 10 parks & preserves
Charles Alley Nature Park297 acres · 6.7 mi of trail · City of Lancaster
DirectionsWahkeena Nature Preserve147 acres · 1.5 mi of trail · Fairfield County Park District
DirectionsRhododendron Cove State Nature Preserve75 acres · 1.2 mi of trail · Ohio Department of Natural Resources
DirectionsHintz Hollow Preserve171 acres · 0.3 mi of trail · Appalachia Ohio Alliance
Stone Canyon Preserve145 acres · Appalachia Ohio Alliance
Mercer Woods Preserve50 acres · Appalachia Ohio Alliance
Clear Creek37 acres
Kleinmaier State Nature Preserve31 acres · Appalachia Ohio Alliace
DirectionsFlight of the Hawk Sculpture Park7 acres
DirectionsHocking Canal Lock No. 81 acres · Appalachia Ohio Alliance
Who protects it
882 conserved acres
3% of Berne Township’s land. Who manages Berne Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits363 ac
Town or city344 ac
Other state land183 ac
County6 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government2 ac
Conservation Easement · 363 acLocal Park · 350 acState Conservation Area · 183 acUnknown Easement · 2 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 365 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 2 of 14 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alley Park Local Park | Town or city | 344 | Open |
| Wahkeena Nature Preserve State Conservation Area | Other state land | 183 | Open |
| Flight Of The Hawk Local Park | County | 6 | Open |
Things to do
4 places to go in Berne Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Berne Township
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Peaks in Berne Township
Buck Run Knob1,004 ft elevation · In Charles Alley Nature Park
DirectionsCampgrounds in Berne Township
Geneva HillsGeneva Hills Group
DirectionsDisc golf in Berne Township
Eagle's Nest Disc Golf CourseIn Charles Alley Nature Park
DirectionsTrails & water
18 named trails and 11 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 8.6 mi
Alley Trail1.8 mi
Rhododendron Cove Orange Loop Trail0.7 mi
Rhododendron Cove Blue Loop Trail0.6 mi
Backhand Trail0.5 mi
Buck Run Trail0.4 mi
Ridge Trail0.3 mi
Twin Lakes Trail0.3 mi
Poplar Valley Trail0.3 mi
Sourwood Trail0.3 mi
Meadow Trail0.2 mi
8 more trails
Lakes Trail
0.2 miRidge Loop
0.2 miChristmas Fern Trail
0.1 miOak Trail
0.1 miMuskrat Bend
0.1 miTrillium Trail
0.1 miVultures Roost Trail
0.1 miPond Loop
0.1 miBiking & sports
3.6 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
3.6 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
5Baseball
1Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →2 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 2 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
August is the best month for walking in Berne 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) | 9.7 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 13.2 | 14.3 | 15.0 | 14.7 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 9.9 | 9.4 |
| High (°F) | 38 | 41 | 52 | 64 | 74 | 82 | 85 | 84 | 77 | 66 | 53 | 42 |
| Rain (in) | 3.0 | 2.6 | 3.6 | 4.0 | 4.3 | 4.3 | 4.3 | 3.5 | 3.0 | 2.9 | 2.9 | 3.1 |
February is the driest month (2.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 85 °F). 4.3 inches fall in July, the wettest month. The climate in Berne Township →
Next door
Berne Township and its neighbors
Berne Township has the second most mapped trails of the 7 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Marion Township13 miBerne Township12 miGood Hope Township11 miHocking Township9.3 miLancaster8.3 miPleasant Township2.8 miRush Creek Township1.5 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Berne Township | 3% | 0.3 | 110 | 18% | B− |
| Lancaster | 3% | 0.4 | 10 | 76% | B |
| Pleasant Township | 3% | 0.1 | 25 | 33% | C+ |
| Marion Township | 3% | 0.3 | 262 | 7% | B− |
| Good Hope Township | 25% | 0.4 | 596 | 24% | A− |
| Hocking Township | 3% | 0.3 | 136 | 15% | B− |
| Rush Creek Township | 1% | under 0.1 | 4 | 35% | D |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Berne Township
Where can I hike in Berne Township?
The longest trail networks: Charles Alley Nature Park, 6.7 miles; Wahkeena Nature Preserve, 1.5 miles; Rhododendron Cove State Nature Preserve, 1.2 miles; Hintz Hollow Preserve, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Berne Township is conserved land?
3% 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.
Are dogs allowed on Berne Township’s trails?
Charles Alley Nature Park and Wahkeena Nature Preserve don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Berne Township?
3.6 miles of bike routes are on the map: 3.6 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Berne Township?
10,284 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Berne Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 559 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Berne Township have?
Ahead of 51% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #513 of 993 in Ohio. 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 Berne 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 →