Cackley Swamp Preserve
Managed by Appalachia Ohio Alliance
442 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Nyttend · Public domainBOutdoors
Outdoors in Madison Township
21% of Madison Township’s land is conserved: 6,118 acres
279 acres are parks and preserves, 108 per 1,000 residents. 2.5 miles of mapped trail cross Madison Township, 0.1 per square mile of land. 30% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 60% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
21%
6,118 acres · of 45.3 sq mi of land
Trails
2.5 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
279 ac
108 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
30%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
1
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 60% of U.S. towns. Conserved land holds the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Madison Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land21% of the land · typical OH town 3% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (3 mi) · OH 0.2 · U.S. 0.4C−Park land108 acres of park per 1,000 residents (279 acres) · OH 15 · U.S. 13AParks close to home30% 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 60%
LessMore
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ 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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
6,118 conserved acres
21% of Madison Township’s land. Who manages Madison Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources5,710 ac
U.S. Forest Service402 ac
Town or city6 ac
State Conservation Area · 5,710 acNational Forest · 402 acState Recreation Area · 6 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cooper Hollow Wildlife Area State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 5,710 | Restricted |
| Wayne National Forest National Forest | U.S. Forest Service | 402 | Open |
| Baseball Field and Recreation Area State Recreation Area | Town or city | 6 | Open |
Things to do
4 places to go in Madison Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Madison Township
3 playgrounds 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. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
1 lakes & rivers
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
5Basketball
3Baseball
2Pickleball
1Beach volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Madison Township: April and August
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 | 14.6 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.0 | 9.5 |
| High (°F) | 41 | 45 | 54 | 67 | 75 | 83 | 86 | 85 | 79 | 67 | 55 | 45 |
| Rain (in) | 3.2 | 3.1 | 4.1 | 3.8 | 4.5 | 4.2 | 4.6 | 3.5 | 3.4 | 3.0 | 2.8 | 3.6 |
November is the driest month (2.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 86 °F). 4.6 inches fall in July, the wettest month. The climate in Madison Township →
Next door
Madison 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Madison Township | 21% | 0.1 | 108 | 30% | B |
| Bloomfield Township | 3% | 0.3 | 120 | 4% | B− |
| Franklin Township | 1% | 0.1 | under 1 | under 1% | D |
| Perry Township | 17% | under 0.1 | 515 | 11% | 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: Central Memorial Park, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Madison Township is conserved land?
21% 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?
Cackley Swamp Preserve and Margaret Ann Pool & Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Madison Township?
57,468 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Madison Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 696 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Madison Township have?
Ahead of 60% 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 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 →