Camp Lakota
Park
348 acres2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
BOutdoors
Outdoors in Defiance Township
Defiance Township has 719 acres of parks, 54 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Camp Lakota (2 mi). 80% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 4.8 miles of mapped trail cross Defiance Township, 0.2 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 64% of U.S. towns · #347 of 993 in Ohio. What drives it
Conserved land
3%
644 acres · of 29.9 sq mi of land
Trails
4.8 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
719 ac
54 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
80%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
2.1 mi
2.1 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
5
1 beach · 2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Defiance Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Defiance Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Defiance Township is ahead of 64% of U.S. towns, #347 of 993 in Ohio. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Defiance Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land3% of the land · typical OH town 3% · U.S. 4%B−Trails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (5 mi) · OH 0.2 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land54 acres of park per 1,000 residents (719 acres) · OH 15 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home80% of residents within a half mile of a park · OH 60% · U.S. 72%B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 64%
LessMore
Ohio towns of 2,500+ (993)Ahead of 65%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B− 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 Camp Lakota, with 2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Riverside Park
Park
33 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Bronson Park
Park
25 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 11 parks & preserves
Camp Lakota348 acres · 2 mi of trail
Oldfort Defiance Park2 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Riverside Park33 acres
Bronson Park25 acres
Kingsbury Park13 acres
DirectionsCompo Park7 acres
Latty Grove Park5 acres
Tecumseh Park4 acres
Legion Field2 acres
DirectionsIsland Park1 acres
Second Ward Park1 acres
Who protects it
644 conserved acres
3% of Defiance Township’s land. Who manages Defiance Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits467 ac
Town or city153 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)24 ac
County1 ac
Private Recreation or Education · 467 acLocal Park · 154 acConservation Easement · 24 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 24 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Camp Lakota Private Recreation or Education | Land trusts & nonprofits | 467 | Open |
| UAW Park Local Park | Town or city | 36 | Open |
| Riverside Park Local Park | Town or city | 32 | Open |
| VFW 3360 Park Local Park | Town or city | 25 | Open |
| Bronson Park Local Park | Town or city | 23 | Open |
| Kingsbury Park Local Park | Town or city | 14 | Open |
| Tecumseh Park Local Park | Town or city | 8 | Open |
| Compo Park Local Park | Town or city | 7 | Open |
| Latty Grove Park Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Open |
| Legion Field Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
2 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
12 places to go in Defiance Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Defiance Township
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Defiance Township
9 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Defiance Township
2 boat launches without a name on the map.
Trails & water
1 named trail and 5 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Horses · 0.5 mi
Buckeye Trail0.7 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
2.1 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
2.1 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
12Baseball
8Tennis
5Basketball
2Volleyball
2Soccer
1Skate park
1Football
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 Defiance 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 | 36 | 48 | 61 | 72 | 81 | 85 | 82 | 77 | 64 | 49 | 38 |
| Rain (in) | 2.4 | 2.0 | 2.5 | 3.6 | 4.2 | 3.9 | 3.8 | 3.7 | 3.0 | 2.7 | 2.9 | 2.4 |
February is the driest month (2.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 85 °F). 4.2 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Defiance Township →
Next door
Defiance Township and its neighbors
Defiance Township has the second most mapped trails of the 3 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Defiance Township | 3% | 0.2 | 54 | 80% | B |
| Noble Township | under 1% | under 0.1 | 10 | 66% | C− |
| Richland Township | 3% | 0.2 | 157 | 40% | B |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Defiance Township
Where can I hike in Defiance Township?
The longest trail networks: Camp Lakota, 2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Defiance 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 Defiance Township’s trails?
Camp Lakota and Riverside Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Defiance Township?
2.1 miles of bike routes are on the map: 2.1 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Defiance Township?
1,685 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Defiance Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 719 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Defiance Township have?
Ahead of 64% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #347 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 Defiance 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 →