Photo: Nyttend · Public domainPortage Township has 227 acres of parks, 147 for every 1,000 residents
6% of Portage Township’s land is conserved, about 320 acres. 44% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 1.0 miles of mapped trail cross Portage Township, 0.1 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 57% of U.S. towns. What drives it
What kind of outdoors town is Portage Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
How much outdoors does Portage Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Portage Township is ahead of 57% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
Water is more than half of Portage Township’s area (37 of 46 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 1%.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Pick a walk
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
320 conserved acres
6% of Portage Township’s land. Water is left out: Portage Township has 9.0 square miles of land and 37.3 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Portage Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mike's Bayfront Camping Private Recreation or Education | Private owners | 143 | Open |
| Rusk's Marsh Private Recreation or Education | Private owners | 121 | Open |
| Catawba Willow Golf and Country Club Private Park | Private owners | 34 | Open |
| J Nehls Private Recreation or Education | Private owners | 17 | Open |
| Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge National Wildlife Refuge | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 6 | Restricted |
| Waterworks Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
1 places to go in Portage Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
1 picnic area without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
0.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
The best walking months in Portage Township: July 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) | 33 | 36 | 45 | 57 | 68 | 78 | 82 | 80 | 74 | 62 | 49 | 38 |
| Rain (in) | 2.3 | 1.9 | 2.5 | 3.6 | 3.5 | 3.7 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.2 | 2.9 | 2.6 | 2.3 |
February is the driest month (1.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 3.7 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Portage Township →
Portage Township 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 Township | 6% | 0.1 | 147 | 44% | B |
| Port Clinton | 4% | 0.6 | 7 | 88% | B |
| Catawba Island Township | 13% | 0.8 | 49 | 44% | A− |
| Margaretta Township | 19% | 0.1 | 76 | 31% | B |
| Danbury Township | 16% | 0.8 | 354 | 57% | A |
| Erie Township | 23% | 0.2 | 810 | 34% | A− |
| Bay Township | 50% | 0.3 | 1,399 | 56% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Portage Township
How much of Portage Township is conserved land?
6% 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 Township’s trails?
Waterworks Park doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Portage Township?
10,117 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Portage Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 227 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Portage Township have?
Ahead of 57% 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 Portage Township neighbors.
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 →