Swamp Cottonwood State Nature Preserve
Managed by Ohio Division of Natural Resources
55 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Roseohioresident · CC BY-SA 4.0C−Outdoors
Outdoors in Homer Township
Homer Township has 128 acres of parks, 85 for every 1,000 residents
6% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 23% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
1%
149 acres · of 24.5 sq mi of land
Trails
0.0 mi
0.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
128 ac
85 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
6%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Homer Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Homer Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Homer Township is ahead of 23% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
C−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Homer Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land1% of the land · typical OH town 3% · U.S. 4%CTrails0.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (0 mi) · OH 0.2 · U.S. 0.4DPark land85 acres of park per 1,000 residents (128 acres) · OH 15 · U.S. 13AParks close to home6% of residents within a half mile of a park · OH 60% · U.S. 72%D
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 23%
LessMore
NoteFew parks or trails are mapped in Homer Township. OpenStreetMap is mapped by volunteers and coverage varies from town to town, so a town with unmapped parks scores low on them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C+. 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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
149 conserved acres
1% of Homer Township’s land. Who manages Homer Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Private owners128 ac
State natural resources21 ac
Private Recreation or Education · 128 acState Conservation Area · 21 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wildwood Lakes Private Recreation or Education | Private owners | 128 | Open |
| Swamp Cottonwood NA State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 21 | Closed |
Things to do
1 places to go in Homer Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Campgrounds in Homer Township
Homerville KOA
DirectionsTrails & water
1 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
When to get out
The best walking months in Homer Township: April, August and September
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 | 14.8 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.2 |
| High (°F) | 34 | 37 | 47 | 60 | 71 | 79 | 83 | 81 | 75 | 63 | 50 | 38 |
| Rain (in) | 2.7 | 2.2 | 3.0 | 3.7 | 4.1 | 4.5 | 4.0 | 3.6 | 3.5 | 3.3 | 2.9 | 2.7 |
February is the driest month (2.2 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 4.5 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Homer Township →
Next door
Homer Township and its neighbors
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Homer Township | 1% | under 0.1 | 85 | 6% | C− |
| Spencer Township | 5% | under 0.1 | 409 | 23% | C+ |
| Sullivan Township | under 1% | under 0.1 | 56 | 7% | C− |
| Harrisville Township | 2% | 0.1 | 212 | 16% | B− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Homer Township
How much of Homer Township is conserved land?
1% 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 Homer Township’s trails?
Swamp Cottonwood State Nature Preserve doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Homer Township?
8,080 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Homer Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 128 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Homer Township have?
Ahead of 23% 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 Homer 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 →