Walnut Woods Metro Park
Nature preserve
971 acres5.9 mi of trail
Kestrel TrailPin Oak TrailSweetgum Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Sixflashphoto · CC BY-SA 4.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Madison Township
Madison Township has 1,831 acres of parks, 70 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Walnut Woods Metro Park (5.9 mi), Pickerington Ponds Metro Park (1 mi), McGill Park (0.5 mi). 9% of Madison Township’s land is conserved, about 2,290 acres. 86% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 84% of U.S. towns · #108 of 993 in Ohio. What drives it
Conserved land
9%
2,290 acres · of 39.3 sq mi of land
Trails
19 mi
0.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,831 ac
70 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
86%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
26 mi
24 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
7
What kind of outdoors town is Madison Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Madison Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Madison Township is ahead of 84% of U.S. towns, #108 of 993 in Ohio. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; park acres per resident rank highest, trail miles lowest.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Madison Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land9% of the land · typical OH town 3% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (19 mi) · OH 0.2 · U.S. 0.4BPark land70 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,831 acres) · OH 15 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home86% 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 84%
LessMore
Ohio towns of 2,500+ (993)Ahead of 89%
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 Walnut Woods Metro Park, with 5.9 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Pickerington Ponds Metro Park
Nature preserve
502 acres1 mi of trail
Killdeer TrailYellowlegs Trail
No dogs
Directionsto the parking lot
Green Pointe Business Park
Park
12 acres0.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 23 parks & preserves
Walnut Woods Metro Park971 acres · 5.9 mi of trail
DirectionsPickerington Ponds Metro Park502 acres · 1 mi of trail
DirectionsMcGill Park63 acres · 0.5 mi of trail
DirectionsGreen Pointe Business Park12 acres · 0.5 mi of trail
Blacklick Park76 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsThree Creeks Metro Park34 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsMadison Mills Park14 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsCruiser Park55 acres · City of Groveport
DirectionsBig Walnut-Edgewater Parkland40 acres · Columbus Recreation and Parks
Refugee Preserve34 acres · Columbus Recreation and Parks
DirectionsDeems Parkland19 acres · Columbus Recreation and Parks
DirectionsHeritage Park18 acres · City of Groveport
DirectionsColumbus and Franklin County Metropark District14 acres
Roger Hanners Recreational Fields & Skate Park13 acres
DirectionsDegenhart Park7 acres · City of Groveport
DirectionsFounders Bend Park6 acres
Amberfield Parkland5 acres · Columbus Recreation and Parks
Village Park3 acres
DirectionsHelsel Park2 acres
DirectionsCherry Landing Park2 acres
Orchard Park2 acres · City of Groveport
DirectionsStradley Place1 acres
DirectionsKiddie's Sledding Hill1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
2,290 conserved acres
9% of Madison Township’s land. Who manages Madison Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Regional agency944 ac
Town or city828 ac
Private owners448 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)147 ac
County3 ac
Not recorded72 ac
Local Park · 1,127 acLocal Conservation Area · 495 acPrivate Park · 448 acLocal Recreation Area · 226 acConservation Easement · 147 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 42 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Walnut Woods 7 Local Conservation Area | Regional agency | 373 | Open |
| Pickerington Ponds Metropark Local Park | Regional agency | 331 | Open |
| Westchester Golf Course Private Park | Private owners | 310 | Open |
| Three Creeks Metropark Local Park | Regional agency | 234 | Open |
| Willows at Groveport Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 141 | Open |
| Homestead Springs Golf Course Private Park | Private owners | 139 | Open |
| Richardson Road Parkland Local Park | Town or city | 79 | Open |
| Walnut Creek Park Local Park | Town or city | 75 | Unknown |
| Groveport Recreation Center Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 70 | Open |
| Groveport Cruiser Park Local Park | Town or city | 55 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
104 places to go in Madison Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Madison Township
95 playgrounds are on OpenStreetMap in all; the list shows named ones from the first 30.
Dog parks in Madison Township
BrewDog Dog Park
DirectionsDog ParkIn Walnut Woods Metro Park
DirectionsDog ParkIn Walnut Woods Metro Park
DirectionsPlus 1 dog park without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Scenic views in Madison Township
2 scenic views without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Picnic areas in Madison Township
1 picnic area without a name on the map.
Community gardens in Madison Township
2 community gardens without a name on the map.
Trails & water
7 named trails and 7 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 7.7 mi
Kestrel Trail1.3 mi
Killdeer Trail0.7 mi
Pin Oak Trail0.4 mi
Milt Caniff Boulevard East0.2 mi
Milt Caniff Boulevard West0.2 mi
Sweetgum Trail0.1 mi
Yellowlegs Trail0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
26 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
24 mi
off-road bike paths
2.0 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
42Baseball
40Soccer
35Basketball
15Tennis
4Football
1Skate park
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →35 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 7 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Rager, John, FarmhouseBuilding · listed 1990
About itJoshua Stevenson HouseBuilding · listed 2007
About it23 more on the History page.
When to get out
August is the best month for walking in Madison 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 | 14.7 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 9.9 | 9.4 |
| High (°F) | 37 | 41 | 51 | 65 | 74 | 82 | 85 | 84 | 78 | 66 | 53 | 42 |
| Rain (in) | 2.9 | 2.4 | 3.5 | 4.1 | 4.3 | 4.4 | 4.4 | 3.6 | 3.2 | 2.9 | 2.9 | 3.0 |
February is the driest month (2.4 in) and July the warmest (highs of 85 °F). 4.4 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Madison Township →
Next door
Madison Township and its neighbors
Madison Township has the second most mapped trails of the 8 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Columbus138 miMadison Township19 miViolet Township12 miCanal Winchester4.8 miHamilton Township4.7 miGroveport3.0 miObetz2.6 miBlacklick Estates0.0 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Madison Township | 9% | 0.5 | 70 | 86% | A− |
| Columbus | 9% | 0.6 | 13 | 94% | A− |
| Blacklick Estates | 5% | under 0.1 | 8 | 89% | C+ |
| Canal Winchester | 10% | 0.6 | 26 | 92% | A− |
| Groveport | 12% | 0.3 | 118 | 99% | A |
| Obetz | 5% | 0.4 | 25 | 61% | B |
| Violet Township | 4% | 0.3 | 21 | 69% | B |
| Hamilton Township | 3% | 0.4 | 31 | 79% | B |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Madison Township
Where can I hike in Madison Township?
The longest trail networks: Walnut Woods Metro Park, 5.9 miles; Pickerington Ponds Metro Park, 1 miles; McGill Park, 0.5 miles; Green Pointe Business Park, 0.5 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Madison Township is conserved land?
9% 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 Madison Township’s trails?
Walnut Woods Metro Park and Pickerington Ponds Metro Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Madison Township?
26 miles of bike routes are on the map: 24 of off-road paths and 2.0 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Madison Township?
15,312 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Madison Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,831 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Madison Township have?
Ahead of 84% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #108 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 Madison 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 →