Riverbend Recreation Area
Managed by Hancock Park District
130 acres3.2 mi of trail
Bridle Trail & Heritage TrailWoodland TrailRiver TrailMeadow Trail+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Alvintrusty · CC BY-SA 4.0B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Marion Township
Marion Township has 1,145 acres of parks, 359 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Riverbend Recreation Area (3.2 mi), Bright Conservation Area (0.8 mi). 11 miles of mapped trail cross Marion Township, 0.5 per square mile of land. 2% of Marion Township’s land is conserved, about 333 acres.
Ahead of 68% of U.S. towns · #282 of 993 in Ohio. What drives it
Conserved land
2%
333 acres · of 22.6 sq mi of land
Trails
11 mi
0.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,145 ac
359 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
56%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
2.4 mi
2.4 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
3
3 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Marion Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Marion Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Marion Township is ahead of 68% of U.S. towns, #282 of 993 in Ohio. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Marion Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land2% of the land · typical OH town 3% · U.S. 4%C+Trails0.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (11 mi) · OH 0.2 · U.S. 0.4BPark land359 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,145 acres) · OH 15 · U.S. 13AParks close to home56% 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 68%
LessMore
Ohio towns of 2,500+ (993)Ahead of 72%
Water is 5% of Marion Township’s area (1 of 24 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 2%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B− 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 Riverbend Recreation Area, with 3.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Bright Conservation Area
Managed by Hancock Park District
37 acres0.8 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Lehman Conservation Area
Managed by Hancock Park District
6 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Riverbend Conservation Area
Managed by Hancock Park District
23 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 8 parks & preserves
Riverbend Recreation Area130 acres · 3.2 mi of trail · Hancock Park District
DirectionsBright Conservation Area37 acres · 0.8 mi of trail · Hancock Park District
Lehman Conservation Area6 acres · 0.3 mi of trail · Hancock Park District
Oxbow Bend Activity Area3 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsRiverbend Conservation Area23 acres · Hancock Park District
DirectionsVogelsong Conservation Area21 acres · Hancock Park District
Emory Adams Community Park15 acres
DirectionsLawrence Conservation Area4 acres · Hancock Park District
Who protects it
333 conserved acres
2% of Marion Township’s land. Water is left out: Marion Township has 22.6 square miles of land and 1.3 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Marion Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Regional agency127 ac
Private owners84 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits74 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)36 ac
Town or city13 ac
Local Park · 127 acPrivate Park · 84 acOther Easement · 74 acConservation Easement · 36 acLocal Recreation Area · 13 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 110 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Riverbend Park Local Park | Regional agency | 127 | Open |
| Oak Mallett Golf Course Private Park | Private owners | 50 | Open |
| Shady Grove Golf Course Private Park | Private owners | 30 | Open |
| Emory Adams Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 13 | Open |
| Wayside Golf Course Private Park | Private owners | 4 | Open |
Things to do
11 places to go in Marion Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Marion Township
Challenger PlaygroundIn Riverbend Recreation Area
DirectionsPlus 3 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Marion Township
K-9 Field of Dreams Dog ParkIn Riverbend Recreation Area
DirectionsBoat launches in Marion Township
3 boat launches without a name on the map.
Picnic areas in Marion Township
2 picnic areas without a name on the map.
Campgrounds in Marion Township
Primitive CampgroundsIn Riverbend Recreation Area
DirectionsTrails & water
8 named trails and 3 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 7.3 miUnpaved · 6.8 mi
Bridle Trail0.4 mi
Bridle Trail & Heritage Trail0.4 mi
Woodland Trail0.4 mi
River Trail0.4 mi
Meadow Trail0.4 mi
Bridle Trail and Heritage Trail0.3 mi
Woodland Trail, Heritage Trail, & Bridle Trail0.3 mi
Meadow Trail, Heritage Trail, & Bridle Trail0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
2.4 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
2.4 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
2Tennis
2Beach volleyball
1Baseball
1Disc golf
1Basketball
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). The map also marks 2 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Landers Brothers Company BuildingBuilding · listed 2019
About itWhen to get out
September is the best month for walking in Marion 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 | 15.1 | 14.8 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.2 |
| High (°F) | 34 | 37 | 47 | 61 | 72 | 81 | 84 | 82 | 77 | 64 | 50 | 39 |
| Rain (in) | 2.4 | 2.0 | 2.4 | 3.6 | 3.9 | 4.0 | 3.8 | 3.4 | 3.0 | 2.7 | 2.6 | 2.4 |
February is the driest month (2.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 4.0 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Marion Township →
Next door
Marion Township and its neighbors
Marion Township has the most mapped trails of the 3 towns around it. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marion Township | 2% | 0.5 | 359 | 56% | B+ |
| Findlay | 4% | 0.5 | 13 | 72% | B |
| Biglick Township | 1% | 0.1 | under 1 | under 1% | D |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Marion Township
Where can I hike in Marion Township?
The longest trail networks: Riverbend Recreation Area, 3.2 miles; Bright Conservation Area, 0.8 miles; Lehman Conservation Area, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Marion Township is conserved land?
2% 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 Marion Township’s trails?
Riverbend Recreation Area and Bright Conservation Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Marion Township?
2.4 miles of bike routes are on the map: 2.4 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Marion Township?
4,429 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Marion Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,145 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Marion Township have?
Ahead of 68% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #282 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 Marion 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 →