Christmas Rocks Nature Preserve
Nature preserve
556 acres3 mi of trail
Christmas Rocks Blue Loop TrailChristmas Rocks Orange Loop Trail MainChristmas Rocks Orange Loop Trail
No dogs
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: Brian Flanagan · CC BY-SA 3.0B−Outdoors
Outdoors in Hocking Township
Hocking Township has 665 acres of parks, 136 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Christmas Rocks Nature Preserve (3 mi), Shallenberger State Nature Preserve (1.4 mi). 15% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 3% of Hocking Township’s land is conserved, about 536 acres.
Ahead of 50% of U.S. towns · #520 of 993 in Ohio. What drives it
Conserved land
3%
536 acres · of 32.8 sq mi of land
Trails
9.3 mi
0.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
665 ac
136 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
15%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
1,247 ft
Fairfield County HP
Lakes & rivers
2
What kind of outdoors town is Hocking Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Hocking Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Hocking Township is ahead of 50% of U.S. towns, #520 of 993 in Ohio. 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 Hocking Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land3% of the land · typical OH town 3% · U.S. 4%B−Trails0.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (9 mi) · OH 0.2 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land136 acres of park per 1,000 residents (665 acres) · OH 15 · U.S. 13AParks close to home15% 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 50%
LessMore
Ohio towns of 2,500+ (993)Ahead of 48%
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 Christmas Rocks Nature Preserve, with 3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Shallenberger State Nature Preserve
Managed by Ohio Department of Natural Resources
87 acres1.4 mi of trail
Shallenberger State Nature Preserve TrailAllen Knob Trail
No dogs
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Stoney Hill Preserve
Managed by Fairfield County Park District
118 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 7 parks & preserves
Christmas Rocks Nature Preserve556 acres · 3 mi of trail
DirectionsShallenberger State Nature Preserve87 acres · 1.4 mi of trail · Ohio Department of Natural Resources
DirectionsCedarlen Park15 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsStoney Hill Preserve118 acres · Fairfield County Park District
Arney Run Park1 acres
DirectionsOld Schoolhouse Playground1 acres · Hocking Township
Stonewall Cemetery1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
536 conserved acres
3% of Hocking Township’s land. Who manages Hocking Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources275 ac
Private owners129 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)116 ac
Town or city15 ac
State Conservation Area · 275 acPrivate Park · 129 acConservation Easement · 116 acLocal Park · 15 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 116 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Christmas Rocks Dedicated Nature Preserve State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 188 | Open |
| Lancaster Country Club Private Park | Private owners | 129 | Open |
| Shallenberger Dedicated Nature Preserve State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 87 | Closed |
| Cedarlen Park Local Park | Town or city | 15 | Open |
Things to do
15 places to go in Hocking Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in Hocking Township
Lancaster Country Club Pool
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Hocking Township
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Hocking Township
2 dog parks without a name on the map.
Peaks in Hocking Township
Fairfield County HP1,247 ft elevation
DirectionsJacobs Ladder1,184 ft elevation · In Christmas Rocks Nature Preserve
DirectionsChristmas Rocks1,135 ft elevation · In Christmas Rocks Nature Preserve
DirectionsAllen Knob1,129 ft elevation · In Shallenberger State Nature Preserve
DirectionsBecks Knob1,112 ft elevation
DirectionsChristmas Rocks1,099 ft elevation · In Christmas Rocks Nature Preserve
DirectionsClaypool Knob1,083 ft elevation
DirectionsRuble Knob1,047 ft elevation · In Shallenberger State Nature Preserve
Directions1 more peak
Stony Hill1,001 ft elevation
DirectionsPlus 1 peak without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
5 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 4.6 mi
Christmas Rocks Blue Loop Trail1.6 mi
Christmas Rocks Orange Loop Trail Main0.8 mi
Christmas Rocks Orange Loop Trail0.7 mi
Shallenberger State Nature Preserve Trail0.7 mi
Allen Knob Trail0.2 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
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
4Basketball
3Baseball
1Tennis
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →5 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 1 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
August is the best month for walking in Hocking 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 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 13.2 | 14.3 | 15.0 | 14.7 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 9.9 | 9.4 |
| High (°F) | 37 | 41 | 51 | 64 | 73 | 81 | 84 | 83 | 77 | 65 | 52 | 41 |
| Rain (in) | 3.0 | 2.6 | 3.6 | 4.1 | 4.4 | 4.5 | 4.4 | 3.6 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.2 |
February is the driest month (2.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 4.5 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Hocking Township →
Next door
Hocking Township and its neighbors
Hocking Township has the second most mapped trails of the 5 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hocking Township | 3% | 0.3 | 136 | 15% | B− |
| Lancaster | 3% | 0.4 | 10 | 76% | B |
| Madison Township | 11% | 0.2 | 292 | 17% | B |
| Berne Township | 3% | 0.3 | 110 | 18% | B− |
| Amanda Township | under 1% | under 0.1 | under 1 | 18% | D |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Hocking Township
Where can I hike in Hocking Township?
The longest trail networks: Christmas Rocks Nature Preserve, 3 miles; Shallenberger State Nature Preserve, 1.4 miles; Cedarlen Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Hocking 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 Hocking Township’s trails?
Christmas Rocks Nature Preserve and Shallenberger State Nature Preserve don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Hocking Township?
7,539 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Hocking Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 665 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Hocking Township have?
Ahead of 50% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #520 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 Hocking 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 →