Little Hearts Big Smiles Special Needs Playground
Managed by Little Hearts Big Smiles
5 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Nyttend · Public domainDOutdoors
Outdoors in Union Township
Few parks or trails are on the map in Union Township
1% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 5 acres are parks and preserves, 1.6 per 1,000 residents. 2.6 miles of mapped trail cross Union Township, 0.1 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 6% of U.S. towns · #963 of 993 in Ohio. What drives it
Conserved land
under 1%
5 acres · of 47.1 sq mi of land
Trails
2.6 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
5 ac
1.6 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
1%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.6 mi
0.6 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Union Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Union Township is ahead of 6% of U.S. towns, #963 of 993 in Ohio. All four inputs are below most U.S. towns; trail miles come closest.
D
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Union Township’s overall grade.
Conserved landunder 1% of the land · typical OH town 3% · U.S. 4%DTrails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (3 mi) · OH 0.2 · U.S. 0.4C−Park land1.6 acres of park per 1,000 residents (5 acres) · OH 15 · U.S. 13C−Parks close to home1% of residents within a half mile of a park · OH 60% · U.S. 72%D
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 6%
LessMore
Ohio towns of 2,500+ (993)Ahead of 3%
NoteFew parks or trails are mapped in Union 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 D− to D. 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
5 conserved acres
under 1% of Union Township’s land. Who manages Union Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Private owners5 ac
Private Park · 5 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elks 797 Golf Club Private Park | Private owners | 5 | Open |
Things to do
4 places to go in Union Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Union Township
4 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
1 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
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
6Tennis
3Equestrian
1Beach volleyball
1Basketball
1Baseball
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 Union 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 | 9.9 | 9.4 |
| High (°F) | 37 | 41 | 51 | 64 | 73 | 81 | 84 | 83 | 78 | 66 | 53 | 41 |
| Rain (in) | 3.2 | 2.7 | 3.8 | 4.4 | 4.6 | 4.7 | 4.3 | 3.3 | 3.0 | 3.1 | 3.0 | 3.4 |
February is the driest month (2.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 4.7 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Union Township →
Next door
Union 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Union Township | under 1% | 0.1 | 2 | 1% | D |
| Washington Township | 3% | 0.1 | 293 | 20% | C+ |
| Adams Township | 2% | 0.2 | 25 | 11% | C+ |
| Chester Township | 8% | 0.6 | 22 | 5% | B |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Union Township
How much of Union Township is conserved land?
under 1% 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 Union Township’s trails?
Little Hearts Big Smiles Special Needs Playground doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Union Township?
0.6 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.6 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Union Township?
11,417 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Union Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 5 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Union Township have?
Ahead of 6% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #963 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 Union 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 →