Spencer Lake State Wildlife Area
Managed by Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife
635 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: Roseohioresident · CC BY-SA 4.0C+Outdoors
Outdoors in Spencer Township
Spencer Township has 729 acres of parks, 409 for every 1,000 residents
0.3 miles of mapped trail cross Spencer Township. 23% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 5% of Spencer Township’s land is conserved, about 713 acres.
Ahead of 45% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
5%
713 acres · of 24.1 sq mi of land
Trails
0.3 mi
0.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
729 ac
409 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
23%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
2
4 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Spencer Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Spencer Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Spencer Township is ahead of 45% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
C+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Spencer Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land5% of the land · typical OH town 3% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (0 mi) · OH 0.2 · U.S. 0.4DPark land409 acres of park per 1,000 residents (729 acres) · OH 15 · U.S. 13AParks close to home23% 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 45%
LessMore
NoteFew parks or trails are mapped in Spencer Township. OpenStreetMap is mapped by volunteers and coverage varies from town to town, so a town with unmapped parks scores low on them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B. 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.
Who protects it
713 conserved acres
5% of Spencer Township’s land. Who manages Spencer Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources621 ac
Private owners84 ac
Town or city8 ac
State Conservation Area · 621 acPrivate Recreation or Education · 84 acState Recreation Area · 8 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spencer Lake Wildlife Area State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 621 | Restricted |
| Sunset Lake Campground Private Recreation or Education | Private owners | 51 | Open |
| Shawnee Lake Park Private Recreation or Education | Private owners | 34 | Open |
| Spencer Reservoir State Recreation Area | Town or city | 8 | Open |
Things to do
5 places to go in Spencer Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Boat launches in Spencer Township
4 boat launches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Campgrounds in Spencer Township
Sunset Lake Campground
DirectionsTrails & water
2 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
When to get out
The best walking months in Spencer Township: April and July to 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 | 14.9 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.2 |
| High (°F) | 34 | 37 | 47 | 60 | 71 | 80 | 83 | 82 | 75 | 63 | 50 | 39 |
| Rain (in) | 2.6 | 2.1 | 2.9 | 3.6 | 4.0 | 4.3 | 3.9 | 3.6 | 3.5 | 3.3 | 2.9 | 2.6 |
February is the driest month (2.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 4.3 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Spencer Township →
Next door
Spencer Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Huntington Township16 miChatham Township4.5 miSpencer1.3 miSpencer Township0.3 miHomer Township0.0 miPenfield Township0.0 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spencer Township | 5% | under 0.1 | 409 | 23% | C+ |
| Chatham Township | 4% | 0.2 | 171 | 25% | B− |
| Homer Township | 1% | under 0.1 | 85 | 6% | C− |
| Spencer | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Penfield Township | 3% | under 0.1 | 22 | 11% | C− |
| Huntington Township | 12% | 0.6 | 1,156 | 29% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Spencer Township
How much of Spencer 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 Spencer Township’s trails?
Spencer Lake State Wildlife Area doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Spencer Township?
9,259 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Spencer Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 729 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Spencer Township have?
Ahead of 45% 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 Spencer 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 →