Serpent Mound Park
Managed by Ohio History Connection
51 acres1 mi of trail
Buckeye Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trail signWebsite ↗
Photo: Pollinator at English Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0B−Outdoors
Outdoors in Bratton Township
14% of Bratton Township’s land is conserved: 2,941 acres
56 acres are parks and preserves, 41 per 1,000 residents. The biggest trail networks: Serpent Mound Park (1 mi), Strait Creek Prairie Bluffs Nature Preserve (0.5 mi). 4% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 48% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
14%
2,941 acres · of 32.2 sq mi of land
Trails
2.5 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
56 ac
41 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
4%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Bratton Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Bratton Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Bratton Township is ahead of 48% of U.S. towns. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Bratton Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land14% of the land · typical OH town 3% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (3 mi) · OH 0.2 · U.S. 0.4CPark land41 acres of park per 1,000 residents (56 acres) · OH 15 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home4% of residents within a half mile of a park · OH 60% · U.S. 72%D
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 48%
LessMore
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 Serpent Mound Park, with 1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Strait Creek Prairie Bluffs Nature Preserve
Managed by The Nature Conservancy
322 acres0.5 mi of trail
Dogs usually not allowed
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Tranquility State Wildlife Area
Managed by Division of Wildlife, Ohio Department of Natural Resources
2,400 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Who protects it
2,941 conserved acres
14% of Bratton Township’s land. Who manages Bratton Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources2,400 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits527 ac
Other state land54 ac
State Conservation Area · 2,400 acPrivate Conservation · 457 acConservation Easement · 69 acState Historic or Cultural Area · 54 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 30 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 8 of 14 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tranquility Wildlife Area State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 2,400 | Restricted |
| Strait Creek Prairie Bluffs Fee Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 320 | Unknown |
| Blue Jay Barrens Fee Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 138 | Unknown |
| Serpent Mound State Memorial State Historic or Cultural Area | Other state land | 54 | Open |
Things to do
1 places to go in Bratton Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Scenic views in Bratton Township
1 scenic view without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
1 named trail and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 0.7 mi
Buckeye Trail0.5 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register, one a National Historic Landmark
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
When to get out
August is the best month for walking in Bratton 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 | 10.7 | 11.8 | 13.2 | 14.3 | 14.9 | 14.6 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.0 | 9.4 |
| High (°F) | 40 | 44 | 54 | 66 | 75 | 83 | 85 | 85 | 79 | 67 | 54 | 44 |
| Rain (in) | 3.2 | 3.1 | 4.1 | 4.4 | 4.9 | 4.6 | 4.4 | 3.4 | 3.2 | 3.2 | 3.0 | 3.5 |
November is the driest month (3.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 85 °F). 4.9 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Bratton Township →
Next door
Bratton 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bratton Township | 14% | 0.1 | 41 | 4% | B− |
| Franklin Township | 14% | 0.3 | 4,211 | 30% | B+ |
| Scott Township | 10% | 0.1 | 1 | 30% | C |
| Meigs Township | 1% | 0.2 | 72 | 49% | C+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Bratton Township
Where can I hike in Bratton Township?
The longest trail networks: Serpent Mound Park, 1 miles; Strait Creek Prairie Bluffs Nature Preserve, 0.5 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Bratton Township is conserved land?
14% 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 Bratton Township’s trails?
Serpent Mound Park and Strait Creek Prairie Bluffs Nature Preserve don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Bratton Township?
17,841 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Bratton Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 56 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Bratton Township have?
Ahead of 48% 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 Bratton 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 →