Black Hand Gorge State Nature Preserve
Nature preserve
2 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Nyttend · Public domainBOutdoors
Outdoors in Madison Township
15% of Madison Township’s land is conserved: 2,045 acres
88 acres are parks and preserves, 26 per 1,000 residents. 2.4 miles of mapped trail cross Madison Township, 0.1 per square mile of land. 36% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 56% of U.S. towns · #448 of 993 in Ohio. What drives it
Conserved land
15%
2,045 acres · of 22.0 sq mi of land
Trails
2.4 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
88 ac
26 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
36%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
3.5 mi
3.5 mi paths
Highest peak
1,201 ft
Bald Knob
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 56% of U.S. towns, #448 of 993 in Ohio. 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 land15% of the land · typical OH town 3% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (2 mi) · OH 0.2 · U.S. 0.4CPark land26 acres of park per 1,000 residents (88 acres) · OH 15 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home36% 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 56%
LessMore
Ohio towns of 2,500+ (993)Ahead of 55%
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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
2,045 conserved acres
15% of Madison Township’s land. Who manages Madison Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Army Corps of Engineers1,112 ac
Other state land643 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)170 ac
Regional Water Districts145 ac
State natural resources129 ac
Town or city77 ac
Recreation Management Area · 1,112 acUnknown Easement · 643 acAgricultural Easement · 315 acState Conservation Area · 129 acLocal Park · 77 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 776 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dillon Recreation Area Recreation Management Area | Army Corps of Engineers | 1,112 | Open |
| Blackhand Gorge Dedicated Nature Preserve State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 129 | Closed |
| Edwards Field/Babe Ruth Park Local Park | Town or city | 77 | Open |
Things to do
3 places to go in Madison Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Peaks in Madison Township
Bald Knob1,201 ft elevation
DirectionsBucks Knob1,184 ft elevation
DirectionsCoshocton Hill942 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
1 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
3.5 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
3.5 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
9Baseball
1Football
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) | 9.6 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 13.2 | 14.4 | 15.0 | 14.7 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 9.9 | 9.3 |
| High (°F) | 37 | 41 | 51 | 64 | 73 | 81 | 84 | 83 | 77 | 65 | 52 | 41 |
| Rain (in) | 2.9 | 2.4 | 3.5 | 3.9 | 4.1 | 4.4 | 4.4 | 3.6 | 3.2 | 2.9 | 2.8 | 3.1 |
February is the driest month (2.4 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 4.4 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 | 15% | 0.1 | 26 | 36% | B |
| Newark | 6% | 0.2 | 15 | 77% | B |
| Hanover Township | 18% | 0.3 | 162 | 46% | A− |
| Heath | 3% | 0.5 | 20 | 53% | B |
| Franklin Township | 6% | 0.4 | 218 | 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
How much of Madison Township is conserved land?
15% 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?
Black Hand Gorge State Nature Preserve doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Madison Township?
3.5 miles of bike routes are on the map: 3.5 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Madison Township?
11,554 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Madison Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,113 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Madison Township have?
Ahead of 56% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #448 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 →