Portage Lakes Wetland State Nature Preserve
Nature preserve
62 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Roseohioresident · CC BY-SA 4.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Portage Lakes
28% of Portage Lakes’ land is conserved, and virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park. 28% of Portage Lakes’ land is conserved, about 710 acres. 746 acres are parks and preserves, 126 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 89% of U.S. towns · #54 of 993 in Ohio. What drives it
Conserved land
28%
710 acres · of 4.0 sq mi of land
Trails
0.3 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
746 ac
126 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.6 mi
0.6 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
10
What kind of outdoors town is Portage Lakes?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Portage Lakes have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Portage Lakes is ahead of 89% of U.S. towns, #54 of 993 in Ohio. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Portage Lakes’ overall grade.
Conserved land28% of the land · typical OH town 3% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (0 mi) · OH 0.2 · U.S. 0.4CPark land126 acres of park per 1,000 residents (746 acres) · OH 15 · U.S. 13AParks close to homeVirtually all residents within a half mile of a park · OH 60% · U.S. 72%A+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 89%
LessMore
Ohio towns of 2,500+ (993)Ahead of 95%
Water is 20% of Portage Lakes’ area (1 of 5 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 23%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from A− 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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Confluence Metro Park
Managed by Summit Metro Parks
37 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 5 parks & preserves
Portage Lakes Wetland State Nature Preserve62 acres
Confluence Metro Park37 acres · Summit Metro Parks
DirectionsLogan Field30 acres
DirectionsCottage Grove Park6 acres
DirectionsIngleside Park5 acres · Coventry Township
Who protects it
710 conserved acres
28% of Portage Lakes’ land. Water is left out: Portage Lakes has 4.0 square miles of land and 1.0 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Portage Lakes’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources675 ac
Town or city31 ac
County4 ac
Private owners1 ac
State Park · 553 acState Conservation Area · 123 acLocal Recreation Area · 35 acPrivate Park · 1 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| East Reservoir State Park State Park | State natural resources | 182 | Open |
| Long Lake State Park State Park | State natural resources | 145 | Open |
| North Reservoir State Park State Park | State natural resources | 142 | Open |
| Portage Path Wildlife Area State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 89 | Open |
| West Reservoir State Park State Park | State natural resources | 59 | Open |
| Logan Field Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 29 | Open |
| Hower Lake State Park State Park | State natural resources | 26 | Open |
| Portage Lakes Wildlife Headquarters State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 24 | Open |
| Portage Lakes Wetland NA State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 9 | Closed |
| Ball Fields Local Recreation Area | County | 4 | Open |
2 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Trails & water
10 lakes & rivers
Biking & sports
0.6 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.6 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
14Baseball
3Soccer
2Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Portage Lakes: April, August 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 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.5 | 15.1 | 14.8 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.2 |
| High (°F) | 35 | 38 | 48 | 61 | 72 | 80 | 84 | 82 | 75 | 63 | 50 | 39 |
| Rain (in) | 2.5 | 2.1 | 2.8 | 3.5 | 3.8 | 4.3 | 3.9 | 3.6 | 3.4 | 3.1 | 2.8 | 2.6 |
February is the driest month (2.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 4.3 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Portage Lakes →
Next door
Portage Lakes 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portage Lakes | 28% | 0.1 | 126 | 99%+ | A |
| Coventry Township | 14% | 0.1 | 74 | 85% | A− |
| Akron | 11% | 1.1 | 25 | 94% | A |
| Green | 7% | 0.6 | 72 | 51% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Portage Lakes
How much of Portage Lakes is conserved land?
28% 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 Portage Lakes’ trails?
Portage Lakes Wetland State Nature Preserve and Confluence Metro Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Portage Lakes?
0.6 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.6 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Portage Lakes?
14,511 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Portage Lakes or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 746 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Portage Lakes have?
Ahead of 89% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #54 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 Portage Lakes 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 →