Gladys Riley
Managed by Arc of Appalachia
260 acres1.2 mi of trail
White Walnut Trail
No dogs
Directionsto Gladys Riley TrailheadWebsite ↗
Photo: Nyttend · Public domainBOutdoors
Outdoors in Brush Creek Township
Brush Creek Township has 3,815 acres of parks, 2,721 for every 1,000 residents
12% of Brush Creek Township’s land is conserved, about 3,814 acres. The biggest trail networks: Gladys Riley (1.2 mi). 24% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 60% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
12%
3,814 acres · of 50.5 sq mi of land
Trails
3.3 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
3,815 ac
2,721 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
24%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
1,102 ft
Hoffer Hill
What kind of outdoors town is Brush Creek Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Brush Creek Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Brush Creek Township is ahead of 60% of U.S. towns. 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 Brush Creek Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land12% 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 land2,721 acres of park per 1,000 residents (3,815 acres) · OH 15 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home24% 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 60%
LessMore
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A−. 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 Gladys Riley, with 1.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
3,814 conserved acres
12% of Brush Creek Township’s land. Who manages Brush Creek Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources3,746 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits68 ac
State Conservation Area · 3,746 acPrivate Conservation · 68 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brush Creek State Forest State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 2,105 | Open |
| Shawnee State Forest State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 1,640 | Open |
| Arc Of Appalachia Biodiversity Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 68 | Open |
Things to do
3 places to go in Brush Creek Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Brush Creek Township
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Peaks in Brush Creek Township
Hoffer Hill1,102 ft elevation
DirectionsJones Knob853 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
3 named trails
Named trails
Horses · 2.0 miUnpaved · 1.3 mi
Crabtree Cemetery1.4 mi
White Walnut Trail1.2 mi
Morgans Trail0.6 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
1Baseball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
August is the best month for walking in Brush Creek 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 | 9.5 |
| High (°F) | 40 | 45 | 54 | 67 | 75 | 82 | 85 | 84 | 79 | 67 | 55 | 45 |
| Rain (in) | 3.3 | 3.0 | 4.2 | 4.2 | 4.7 | 4.5 | 4.6 | 3.4 | 3.2 | 3.2 | 2.9 | 3.6 |
November is the driest month (2.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 85 °F). 4.7 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Brush Creek Township →
Next door
Brush Creek Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Nile Township101 miUnion Township19 miRarden Township5.2 miJefferson Township4.5 miBrush Creek Township3.3 miMorgan Township2.9 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brush Creek Township | 12% | 0.1 | 2,721 | 24% | B |
| Nile Township | 77% | 1.2 | 20,775 | 81% | A+ |
| Union Township | 28% | 0.4 | 3,472 | 24% | A− |
| Rarden Township | 17% | 0.2 | 3,575 | 58% | A− |
| Morgan Township | 15% | 0.1 | 1,695 | 35% | B+ |
| Jefferson 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.
Questions about parks and trails in Brush Creek Township
Where can I hike in Brush Creek Township?
The longest trail networks: Gladys Riley, 1.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Brush Creek Township is conserved land?
12% 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 Brush Creek Township’s trails?
Gladys Riley doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Brush Creek Township?
66,931 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Brush Creek Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 3,815 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Brush Creek Township have?
Ahead of 60% 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 Brush Creek 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 →