Gilliland Nature Preserve
Nature preserve
78 acres2.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Nyttend · Public domainBOutdoors
Outdoors in Franklin Township
Franklin Township has 486 acres of parks, 192 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Gilliland Nature Preserve (2.4 mi). 5% of Franklin Township’s land is conserved, about 814 acres. 2.4 miles of mapped trail cross Franklin Township, 0.1 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 59% of U.S. towns · #406 of 993 in Ohio. What drives it
Conserved land
5%
814 acres · of 24.9 sq mi of land
Trails
2.4 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
486 ac
192 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
54%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
6.5 mi
6.5 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
11 boat launches
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 59% of U.S. towns, #406 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 Franklin Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land5% of the land · typical OH town 3% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (2 mi) · OH 0.2 · U.S. 0.4CPark land192 acres of park per 1,000 residents (486 acres) · OH 15 · U.S. 13AParks close to home54% 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 59%
LessMore
Ohio towns of 2,500+ (993)Ahead of 59%
Water is 9% of Franklin Township’s area (3 of 27 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 5%.
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 Gilliland Nature Preserve, with 2.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Mercer Wildlife Area
Managed by Ohio Department of Natural Resources
340 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Who protects it
814 conserved acres
5% of Franklin Township’s land. Water is left out: Franklin Township has 24.9 square miles of land and 2.6 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Franklin Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources364 ac
Joint237 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)236 ac
Town or city106 ac
Other state land103 ac
Agricultural Easement · 474 acState Conservation Area · 341 acUnknown Easement · 103 acLocal Park · 67 acLocal Conservation Area · 38 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 345 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mercer Wildlife Area State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 341 | Restricted |
| Franklin Township Greenway Expansion - Phase I Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 38 | Open |
| Prairie Creek Nature Park Local Park | Town or city | 35 | Open |
| Franklin Township Nature Park Expansion (Gilliland Property) Local Park | Town or city | 31 | Open |
| Little Chickasaw Fishing Access State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 18 | Open |
| Grand Lake St Marys State Park State Park | State natural resources | 5 | Open |
| Montezuma Village Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
12 places to go in Franklin Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Franklin Township
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in Franklin Township
11 boat launches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
1 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
6.5 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
6.5 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
2Baseball
1Tennis
1Basketball
1Beach volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The walking year 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) | 9.6 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 13.2 | 14.4 | 15.0 | 14.8 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.9 | 9.3 |
| High (°F) | 34 | 37 | 48 | 62 | 72 | 81 | 84 | 82 | 77 | 64 | 50 | 38 |
| Rain (in) | 2.6 | 2.2 | 2.9 | 3.8 | 4.3 | 4.4 | 4.2 | 3.4 | 2.9 | 2.9 | 2.9 | 2.5 |
February is the driest month (2.2 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 4.4 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Franklin Township →
Next door
Franklin Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Jefferson Township11 miMarion Township5.0 miSt. Marys Township3.6 miFranklin Township2.4 miButler Township1.2 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Franklin Township | 5% | 0.1 | 192 | 54% | B |
| St. Marys Township | 13% | 0.1 | 260 | 87% | A− |
| Marion Township | 1% | 0.1 | 15 | 31% | C |
| Butler Township | 1% | under 0.1 | 22 | 75% | C+ |
| Jefferson Township | 2% | 0.3 | 25 | 63% | B− |
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: Gilliland Nature Preserve, 2.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Franklin Township is conserved land?
5% 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?
Gilliland Nature Preserve and Mercer Wildlife Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Franklin Township?
6.5 miles of bike routes are on the map: 6.5 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Franklin Township?
5,894 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Franklin Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 486 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Franklin Township have?
Ahead of 59% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #406 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 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 →