Springville Marsh State Nature Preserve
Managed by Ohio Department of natural Resources
215 acres0.7 mi of trail
Springville Marsh Boardwalk
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Photo: Nyttend · Public domainDOutdoors
Outdoors in Big Spring Township
Few parks or trails are on the map in Big Spring Township
The biggest trail networks: Springville Marsh State Nature Preserve (0.7 mi). 18% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 1.9 miles of mapped trail cross Big Spring Township, 0.1 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 14% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
1%
201 acres · of 36.4 sq mi of land
Trails
1.9 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
8 ac
4.5 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
18%
of residents within ½ mile
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Big Spring Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Big Spring Township is ahead of 14% of U.S. towns. All four inputs are below most U.S. towns; park acres per resident come closest.
D
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Big Spring Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land1% of the land · typical OH town 3% · U.S. 4%CTrails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (2 mi) · OH 0.2 · U.S. 0.4C−Park land4.5 acres of park per 1,000 residents (8 acres) · OH 15 · U.S. 13CParks 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 14%
LessMore
NoteFew parks or trails are mapped in Big Spring 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 Springville Marsh State Nature Preserve, with 0.7 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
201 conserved acres
1% of Big Spring Township’s land. Who manages Big Spring Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources201 ac
State Conservation Area · 201 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Springville Marsh Dedicated Nature Preserve State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 201 | Closed |
Things to do
2 places to go in Big Spring Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Big Spring Township
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
1 named trail
Named trails
Unpaved · 0.7 mi
Springville Marsh Boardwalk0.7 mi
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
5Baseball
4Basketball
1Tennis
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
St. Boniface Roman Catholic Church, School, Rectory, and Convent of the Sister of the Precious BloodBuilding · listed 1982
About itWhen to get out
September is the best month for walking in Big Spring 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) | 9.5 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.5 | 15.1 | 14.8 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.2 |
| High (°F) | 33 | 37 | 47 | 61 | 72 | 81 | 84 | 82 | 76 | 64 | 50 | 38 |
| Rain (in) | 2.4 | 2.1 | 2.5 | 3.6 | 3.9 | 4.0 | 3.9 | 3.5 | 3.1 | 2.8 | 2.7 | 2.5 |
February is the driest month (2.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 4.0 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Big Spring Township →
Next door
Big Spring Township and its neighbors
Big Spring Township has the most mapped trails of the 5 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Big Spring Township1.9 miBiglick Township1.9 miSeneca Township1.2 miCrawford Township0.8 miLoudon Township0.4 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Big Spring Township | 1% | 0.1 | 4 | 18% | D |
| Seneca Township | 2% | under 0.1 | 323 | 23% | C+ |
| Biglick Township | 1% | 0.1 | under 1 | under 1% | D |
| Crawford Township | 2% | under 0.1 | 18 | 74% | C+ |
| Loudon Township | under 1% | under 0.1 | 7 | 25% | D |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Big Spring Township
Where can I hike in Big Spring Township?
The longest trail networks: Springville Marsh State Nature Preserve, 0.7 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Big Spring Township is conserved land?
1% 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 Big Spring Township’s trails?
Springville Marsh State Nature Preserve doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Big Spring Township?
3,314 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Big Spring Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 8 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Big Spring Township have?
Ahead of 14% 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 Big Spring 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 →