Hopewell Culture National Historical Park
Managed by National Park Service
369 acres0.9 mi of trail
Dogs usually limited
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: Aesopposea · CC BY-SA 3.0B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Paxton Township
Paxton Township has 385 acres of parks, 211 for every 1,000 residents
38 miles of mapped trail cross Paxton Township, 1.2 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Hopewell Culture National Historical Park (0.9 mi), Highlands Nature Sanctuary (0.8 mi). 2% of Paxton Township’s land is conserved, about 344 acres.
Ahead of 70% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
2%
344 acres · of 31.8 sq mi of land
Trails
38 mi
1.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
385 ac
211 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
46%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
1,286 ft
McMechen Hill
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Paxton Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Paxton Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Paxton Township is ahead of 70% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Paxton Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land2% of the land · typical OH town 3% · U.S. 4%C+Trails1.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (38 mi) · OH 0.2 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land211 acres of park per 1,000 residents (385 acres) · OH 15 · U.S. 13AParks close to home46% 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 70%
LessMore
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 Hopewell Culture National Historical Park, with 0.9 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Highlands Nature Sanctuary
Managed by Arc of Appalachia
69 acres0.8 mi of trail
Ashy Sunflower Trail
No dogs
Directionsto the trailheadWebsite ↗
Village Park
Park
10 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
344 conserved acres
2% of Paxton Township’s land. Who manages Paxton Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
National Park Service266 ac
Private owners78 ac
Historic or Cultural Area · 266 acPrivate Park · 78 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hopewell Culture National Historical Park Historic or Cultural Area | National Park Service | 266 | Restricted |
| Valley Vista Golf Course Private Park | Private owners | 78 | Open |
Things to do
9 places to go in Paxton Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Paxton Township
3 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Peaks in Paxton Township
McMechen Hill1,286 ft elevation
DirectionsJester Hill1,283 ft elevation
DirectionsPotts Hill1,276 ft elevation
DirectionsJones Hill1,240 ft elevation
DirectionsLittle Copperas Mountain1,198 ft elevation
DirectionsCampgrounds in Paxton Township
1 campground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
1 named trail and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 1.9 mi
Ashy Sunflower Trail0.7 mi
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
7Baseball
5Basketball
1Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
August is the best month for walking in Paxton 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) | 9.7 | 10.7 | 11.8 | 13.2 | 14.3 | 14.9 | 14.7 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.0 | 9.4 |
| High (°F) | 39 | 43 | 53 | 65 | 74 | 82 | 85 | 84 | 78 | 67 | 54 | 43 |
| Rain (in) | 3.1 | 3.0 | 3.8 | 4.2 | 4.7 | 4.4 | 4.2 | 3.3 | 3.1 | 3.0 | 2.9 | 3.4 |
November is the driest month (2.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 85 °F). 4.7 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Paxton Township →
Next door
Paxton Township and its neighbors
Paxton Township has the most mapped trails of the 5 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paxton Township | 2% | 1.2 | 211 | 46% | B+ |
| Paint Township | 12% | 0.9 | 456 | 3% | B+ |
| Twin Township | 1% | 0.1 | 7 | 21% | C− |
| Paint Township | 22% | 0.4 | 653 | 51% | A− |
| Perry Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Paxton Township
Where can I hike in Paxton Township?
The longest trail networks: Hopewell Culture National Historical Park, 0.9 miles; Highlands Nature Sanctuary, 0.8 miles; Bainbridge Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Paxton 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 Paxton Township’s trails?
Hopewell Culture National Historical Park and Highlands Nature Sanctuary don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Paxton Township?
24,662 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Paxton Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 385 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Paxton Township have?
Ahead of 70% 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 Paxton 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 →