Lake La Su An Wildlife Area
Nature preserve
617 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Frank12 · CC BY 3.0COutdoors
Outdoors in Northwest Township
Northwest Township has 8.1 miles of mapped trails, 0.2 for every square mile of land
1 acre is park or preserve, 0.9 per 1,000 residents. 21% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 5% of Northwest Township’s land is conserved, about 934 acres.
Ahead of 26% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
5%
934 acres · of 32.6 sq mi of land
Trails
8.1 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
1 ac
0.9 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
21%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
11
1 boat launch
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Northwest Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Northwest Township is ahead of 26% of U.S. towns. Conserved land holds the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
C
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Northwest Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land5% of the land · typical OH town 3% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (8 mi) · OH 0.2 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land0.9 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1 acre) · OH 15 · U.S. 13DParks close to home21% 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 26%
LessMore
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C+. 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 Lake La Su An Wildlife Area, with 0.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Mud Lake Bog Nature Preserve
Nature preserve
194 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
934 conserved acres
5% of Northwest Township’s land. Who manages Northwest Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources863 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)57 ac
Private owners14 ac
State Conservation Area · 863 acConservation Easement · 30 acForest Stewardship Easement · 27 acPrivate Park · 14 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 57 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lake La Su An Wildlife Area State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 786 | Restricted |
| Mud Lake Bog Dedicated Nature Preserve State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 75 | Closed |
| Woodwind Hollow Golf Course Private Park | Private owners | 14 | Open |
| Nettle Lake Wildlife Area State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 2 | Open |
Things to do
2 places to go in Northwest Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Dog parks in Northwest Township
1 dog park without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in Northwest Township
1 boat launch without a name on the map.
Trails & water
11 lakes & rivers
When to get out
The best walking months in Northwest Township: April and September
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 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.5 | 15.2 | 14.9 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.2 |
| High (°F) | 31 | 35 | 46 | 59 | 70 | 80 | 83 | 81 | 75 | 62 | 48 | 36 |
| Rain (in) | 2.4 | 2.1 | 2.4 | 3.6 | 4.3 | 3.9 | 3.6 | 3.6 | 3.2 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 2.4 |
February is the driest month (2.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 4.3 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Northwest Township →
Next door
Northwest Township and its neighbors
Northwest Township has the most mapped trails of the 5 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Northwest Township8.1 miFlorence Township4.1 miBridgewater Township3.2 miCamden Township0.4 miYork Township0.0 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northwest Township | 5% | 0.2 | 1 | 21% | C |
| Bridgewater Township | 9% | 0.1 | under 1 | under 1% | C− |
| Florence Township | 1% | 0.1 | 21 | 42% | C |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Northwest Township
Where can I hike in Northwest Township?
The longest trail networks: Lake La Su An Wildlife Area, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Northwest Township is conserved land?
5% 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 Northwest Township’s trails?
Lake La Su An Wildlife Area and Mud Lake Bog Nature Preserve don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Northwest Township?
4,171 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Northwest Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Northwest Township have?
Ahead of 26% 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 Northwest 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 →