Mary Jane Thurston State Park
Managed by Ohio Department of Natural Resources
52 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Nyttend · Public domainCOutdoors
Outdoors in Damascus Township
Damascus Township has 64 acres of parks, 35 for every 1,000 residents
1.4 miles of mapped trail cross Damascus Township. 47% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 31% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
under 1%
63 acres · of 30.1 sq mi of land
Trails
1.4 mi
0.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
64 ac
35 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
47%
of residents within ½ mile
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Damascus Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Damascus Township is ahead of 31% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
C
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Damascus Township’s overall grade.
Conserved landunder 1% of the land · typical OH town 3% · U.S. 4%C−Trails0.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · OH 0.2 · U.S. 0.4C−Park land35 acres of park per 1,000 residents (64 acres) · OH 15 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home47% 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 31%
LessMore
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C− 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 Mary Jane Thurston State Park, with 0.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
63 conserved acres
under 1% of Damascus Township’s land. Who manages Damascus Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources54 ac
Town or city8 ac
State Park · 53 acLocal Park · 8 acState Conservation Area · 1 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mary Jane Thurston State Park State Park | State natural resources | 53 | Open |
| Big Creek Park Local Park | Town or city | 8 | Open |
| Turkeyfoot Creek Wildlife Area State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 1 | Open |
Things to do
4 places to go in Damascus Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Boat launches in Damascus Township
4 boat launches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
1 named trail
Named trails
Unpaved · 0.6 mi
Township Road Q20.6 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
2Baseball
1Pickleball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
September is the best month for walking in Damascus 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 | 14.9 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.2 |
| High (°F) | 33 | 37 | 47 | 61 | 72 | 81 | 85 | 83 | 77 | 64 | 50 | 38 |
| Rain (in) | 2.3 | 2.1 | 2.4 | 3.4 | 3.9 | 3.8 | 3.8 | 3.4 | 3.0 | 2.7 | 2.6 | 2.4 |
February is the driest month (2.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 85 °F). 3.9 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Damascus Township →
Next door
Damascus Township and its neighbors
Damascus Township has the second most mapped trails of the 2 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Damascus Township | under 1% | under 0.1 | 35 | 47% | C |
| Washington Township | 8% | 0.2 | 834 | 42% | B+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Damascus Township
Where can I hike in Damascus Township?
The longest trail networks: Mary Jane Thurston State Park, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Damascus Township is conserved land?
under 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 Damascus Township’s trails?
Mary Jane Thurston State Park doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Damascus Township?
7,672 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Damascus Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 64 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Damascus Township have?
Ahead of 31% 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 Damascus 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 →