Castalia Quarry MetroPark
Managed by Erie MetroParks
115 acres0.8 mi of trail
Dogs on leash
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Nyttend · Public domainBOutdoors
Outdoors in Margaretta Township
19% of Margaretta Township’s land is conserved: 3,931 acres
416 acres are parks and preserves, 76 per 1,000 residents. The biggest trail networks: Castalia Quarry MetroPark (0.8 mi). 2.7 miles of mapped trail cross Margaretta Township, 0.1 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 60% of U.S. towns · #388 of 993 in Ohio. What drives it
Conserved land
19%
3,931 acres · of 32.6 sq mi of land
Trails
2.7 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
416 ac
76 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
31%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
2
1 beach
What kind of outdoors town is Margaretta Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Margaretta Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Margaretta Township is ahead of 60% of U.S. towns, #388 of 993 in Ohio. Conserved land holds the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Margaretta Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land19% 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. 0.4CPark land76 acres of park per 1,000 residents (416 acres) · OH 15 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home31% 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
Ohio towns of 2,500+ (993)Ahead of 61%
Water is 35% of Margaretta Township’s area (18 of 50 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 12%.
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
The longest trail network is Castalia Quarry MetroPark, with 0.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Resthaven Wildlife Area
Nature preserve
2,285 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Willow Point Wildlife Area
Nature preserve
355 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
3,931 conserved acres
19% of Margaretta Township’s land. Water is left out: Margaretta Township has 32.6 square miles of land and 17.5 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Margaretta Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources2,642 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)722 ac
Private owners505 ac
County181 ac
Town or city19 ac
Not recorded330 ac
State Conservation Area · 2,525 acConservation Easement · 722 acPrivate Recreation or Education · 505 acPrivate Conservation · 330 acLocal Park · 189 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 255 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Resthaven Wildlife Area State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 2,140 | Restricted |
| Willow Point Wildlife Area State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 385 | Restricted |
| Bayview West Marsh Private Conservation | Not recorded | 220 | Open |
| Castalia Quarry Reserve Local Park | County | 181 | Open |
| Smith Marsh Private Recreation or Education | Private owners | 180 | Open |
| Moxley Marsh Private Recreation or Education | Private owners | 161 | Open |
| Sanford Marsh Private Recreation or Education | Private owners | 132 | Open |
| Castalia Fish Hatchery State Other or Unknown | State natural resources | 116 | Open |
| Neilsen Private Conservation | Not recorded | 110 | Open |
| Boyhane Private Recreation or Education | Private owners | 32 | Open |
2 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
4 places to go in Margaretta Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Margaretta Township
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Margaretta Township
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Campgrounds in Margaretta Township
Crystal Rock Campground
DirectionsTrails & water
2 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
11Baseball
3Football
2Tennis
2Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Castalia Trout ClubDistrict · listed 2019
About itWhen to get out
September is the best month for walking in Margaretta 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) | 9.5 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.5 | 15.2 | 14.9 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.2 |
| High (°F) | 33 | 36 | 45 | 57 | 69 | 78 | 82 | 80 | 74 | 62 | 49 | 38 |
| Rain (in) | 2.3 | 1.9 | 2.5 | 3.6 | 3.6 | 3.8 | 3.6 | 3.5 | 3.2 | 2.9 | 2.7 | 2.3 |
February is the driest month (1.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 3.8 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Margaretta Township →
Next door
Margaretta Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Danbury Township15 miSandusky5.5 miMargaretta Township2.7 miPortage Township1.0 miTownsend Township0.1 miPerkins Township0.0 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Margaretta Township | 19% | 0.1 | 76 | 31% | B |
| Sandusky | 11% | 0.6 | 25 | 97% | A |
| Perkins Township | under 1% | under 0.1 | 7 | 63% | C− |
| Portage Township | 6% | 0.1 | 147 | 44% | B |
| Townsend Township | 6% | under 0.1 | 50 | 6% | C+ |
| Danbury Township | 16% | 0.8 | 354 | 57% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Margaretta Township
Where can I hike in Margaretta Township?
The longest trail networks: Castalia Quarry MetroPark, 0.8 miles; Resthaven Wildlife Area, 0.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Margaretta Township is conserved land?
19% 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 Margaretta Township’s trails?
OpenStreetMap records dogs as welcome at Castalia Quarry MetroPark (on leash). For the rest, check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Margaretta Township?
9,308 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Margaretta Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 533 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Margaretta Township have?
Ahead of 60% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #388 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 Margaretta 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 →