Scioto Trail State Park
Managed by Division of Parks & Watercraft, Ohio Department of Natural Resources
217 acres3.9 mi of trail
Hewitt TrailStewart Lake TrailCCC TrailCaldwell Trail+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: Aesopposea · CC BY-SA 3.0A+Outdoors
Outdoors in Franklin Township
Franklin Township has 8,766 acres of parks, 8,117 for every 1,000 residents
39% of Franklin Township’s land is conserved, about 8,707 acres. 53 miles of mapped trail cross Franklin Township, 1.5 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Scioto Trail State Park (3.9 mi).
Ahead of 96% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
39%
8,707 acres · of 35.0 sq mi of land
Trails
53 mi
1.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
8,766 ac
8,117 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
64%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
1,014 ft
Mount Pisgah
Lakes & rivers
2
4 beaches · 2 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 96% of U.S. towns. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; park acres per resident rank highest, the share of residents near a park lowest.
A+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Franklin Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land39% of the land · typical OH town 3% · U.S. 4%A+Trails1.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (53 mi) · OH 0.2 · U.S. 0.4APark land8,117 acres of park per 1,000 residents (8,766 acres) · OH 15 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home64% 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 96%
LessMore
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from A 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 Scioto Trail State Park, with 3.9 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
8,707 conserved acres
39% 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 resources8,704 ac
Private owners3 ac
State Recreation Area · 8,704 acPrivate Park · 3 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scioto Trail State Forest State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 8,488 | Open |
| Scioto Trail State Park State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 211 | Closed |
| Three Locks Road - Scioto River Fishing Access State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 4 | Open |
| Dogwood Hills Golf Course Private Park | Private owners | 3 | Open |
Things to do
7 places to go in Franklin Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Franklin Township
4 beaches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Franklin Township
2 boat launches without a name on the map.
Peaks in Franklin Township
Mount Pisgah1,014 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
25 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 15.8 miHorses · 26.2 miUnpaved · 29.5 mi
Buckeye Trail9.0 mi
Long Branch Trail3.0 mi
Hewitt Trail1.9 mi
Estep Hollow1.7 mi
South Ridge Trail1.5 mi
Airport Loop1.4 mi
Black Forest1.3 mi
Caldwell Trail1.1 mi
Bridle Trail 60-611.0 mi
Bridle 15-170.9 mi
15 more trails
Airport Downhill
0.9 miStewart Lake Trail
0.7 miCCC Trail
0.7 miBridle Trail
0.7 miBuckeye/Bridle
0.6 miBridle 31-33
0.6 miBridle 17-18
0.4 miBridle 16-17
0.4 miCemetery Bridle Trail
0.4 miBridle Trail 62-63
0.4 miFiretower Trail
0.4 miThe Wall
0.3 miBridle 15-16
0.3 miBridle 18-19
0.3 miBridle Trail 63-65
0.3 miLakes & rivers tap for directions
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Higby HouseBuilding · 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 | 14.7 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.0 | 9.4 |
| High (°F) | 39 | 43 | 53 | 66 | 74 | 82 | 85 | 84 | 78 | 67 | 54 | 43 |
| Rain (in) | 3.1 | 3.0 | 3.7 | 4.1 | 4.5 | 4.2 | 4.2 | 3.2 | 3.3 | 3.0 | 2.9 | 3.4 |
November is the driest month (2.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 85 °F). 4.5 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Franklin Township →
Next door
Franklin Township and its neighbors
Franklin Township has the most mapped trails of the 6 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Franklin Township53 miJackson Township51 miScioto Township41 miJefferson Township21 miLiberty Township16 miHuntington Township12 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Franklin Township | 39% | 1.5 | 8,117 | 64% | A+ |
| Jefferson Township | under 1% | 0.9 | under 1 | under 1% | D |
| Scioto Township | 5% | 1.0 | 43 | 64% | A− |
| Liberty Township | 1% | 0.5 | 74 | 1% | C+ |
| Huntington Township | 1% | 0.2 | 23 | 13% | C |
| Jackson 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 Franklin Township
Where can I hike in Franklin Township?
The longest trail networks: Scioto Trail State Park, 3.9 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Franklin Township is conserved land?
39% 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?
Scioto Trail State Park doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Franklin Township?
23,474 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Franklin Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 8,766 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Franklin Township have?
Ahead of 96% 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 →