Chalet Nivale Nature Preserve
Managed by Arc of Appalachia
106 acres1.7 mi of trail
Crawdad Creek TrailEarly Buttercup Trail
No dogs
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: Nyttend · Public domainB+Outdoors
Outdoors in Franklin Township
Franklin Township has 4,852 acres of parks, 4,211 for every 1,000 residents
14% of Franklin Township’s land is conserved, about 4,906 acres. The biggest trail networks: Chalet Nivale Nature Preserve (1.7 mi). 30% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 74% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
14%
4,906 acres · of 54.1 sq mi of land
Trails
17 mi
0.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
4,852 ac
4,211 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
30%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
1,207 ft
Tener Mountain
What kind of outdoors town is Franklin Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Franklin Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Franklin Township is ahead of 74% 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 Franklin Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land14% of the land · typical OH town 3% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (17 mi) · OH 0.2 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land4,211 acres of park per 1,000 residents (4,852 acres) · OH 15 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home30% 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 74%
LessMore
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B 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 Chalet Nivale Nature Preserve, with 1.7 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Shoemaker State Nature Preserve
Managed by Division of Natural Areas & Preserves, Ohio Department of Natural Resources
22 acres0.4 mi of trail
Cedar Fork Trail
No dogs
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Strait Creek Prairie Bluffs Nature Preserve
Managed by The Nature Conservancy
81 acres
Dogs usually not allowed
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Who protects it
4,906 conserved acres
14% of Franklin Township’s land. Who manages Franklin Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources4,833 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits73 ac
State Conservation Area · 4,833 acPrivate Conservation · 73 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 4 of 6 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brush Creek State Forest State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 4,807 | Open |
| Strait Creek Prairie Bluffs Fee Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 73 | Unknown |
| Shoemaker Dedicated Nature Preserve State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 26 | Open |
Things to do
11 places to go in Franklin Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Franklin Township
3 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Peaks in Franklin Township
Tener Mountain1,207 ft elevation
DirectionsPotato Knob1,145 ft elevation
DirectionsGrassy Hill1,125 ft elevation
DirectionsTolle Hill1,119 ft elevation
DirectionsWeaver Hill1,106 ft elevation
DirectionsPine Hill1,089 ft elevation
DirectionsWalker Hill1,063 ft elevation
DirectionsCarey Hill1,060 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
5 named trails
Named trails
Horses · 4.8 miUnpaved · 2.4 mi
Coffee Hollow4.8 mi
Buckeye Trail2.0 mi
Crawdad Creek Trail0.8 mi
Early Buttercup Trail0.8 mi
Cedar Fork Trail0.8 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
2Basketball
1Baseball
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). The map also marks 2 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Wickerham InnBuilding · listed 1979
About itWhen to get out
August is the best month for walking in Franklin 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 | 45 | 54 | 67 | 75 | 83 | 85 | 85 | 79 | 67 | 55 | 44 |
| Rain (in) | 3.2 | 3.1 | 4.1 | 4.3 | 4.8 | 4.6 | 4.5 | 3.4 | 3.2 | 3.2 | 2.9 | 3.5 |
November is the driest month (2.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 85 °F). 4.8 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Franklin Township →
Next door
Franklin Township and its neighbors
Franklin Township has the second most mapped trails of the 6 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Mifflin Township30 miFranklin Township17 miMeigs Township10 miSunfish Township5.7 miRarden Township5.2 miBratton Township2.5 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Franklin Township | 14% | 0.3 | 4,211 | 30% | B+ |
| Sunfish Township | under 1% | 0.2 | under 1 | 2% | D |
| Bratton Township | 14% | 0.1 | 41 | 4% | B− |
| Mifflin Township | 14% | 0.6 | 2,811 | 49% | A |
| Meigs Township | 1% | 0.2 | 72 | 49% | C+ |
| Rarden Township | 17% | 0.2 | 3,575 | 58% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Franklin Township
Where can I hike in Franklin Township?
The longest trail networks: Chalet Nivale Nature Preserve, 1.7 miles; Shoemaker State Nature Preserve, 0.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Franklin 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 Franklin Township’s trails?
Chalet Nivale Nature Preserve and Shoemaker State Nature Preserve don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Franklin Township?
29,782 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Franklin Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 4,852 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Franklin Township have?
Ahead of 74% 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 Franklin 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 →