Joe Swarts Sports Complex
Park
9 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Nyttend · Public domainC−Outdoors
Outdoors in Upper Township
6% of Upper Township’s land is conserved: 881 acres
0.2 miles of mapped trail cross Upper Township. 28 acres are parks and preserves, 2.0 per 1,000 residents. 50% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 24% of U.S. towns · #773 of 993 in Ohio. What drives it
Conserved land
6%
881 acres · of 24.3 sq mi of land
Trails
0.2 mi
0.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
28 ac
2.0 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
50%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
1
1 beach · 2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Upper Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Upper Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Upper Township is ahead of 24% of U.S. towns, #773 of 993 in Ohio. Conserved land holds the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
C−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Upper Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land6% 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 land2.0 acres of park per 1,000 residents (28 acres) · OH 15 · U.S. 13C−Parks close to home50% 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 24%
LessMore
Ohio towns of 2,500+ (993)Ahead of 22%
NoteFew parks or trails are mapped in Upper 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 C. 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.
Paul Porter Park
Park
6 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
9th Street Park
Park
1 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
881 conserved acres
6% of Upper Township’s land. Who manages Upper Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
U.S. Forest Service866 ac
Town or city8 ac
County6 ac
National Forest · 866 acLocal Park · 8 acLocal Recreation Area · 7 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wayne National Forest National Forest | U.S. Forest Service | 866 | Open |
| Unknonw Ball Fields Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 7 | Open |
| Paul Porter Park Local Park | County | 6 | Open |
| Unknown Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
Things to do
4 places to go in Upper Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Upper Township
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Upper Township
1 playground without a name on the map.
Boat launches in Upper Township
2 boat launches 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
0.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Courts & fields
10Baseball
6Pickleball
5Tennis
4Basketball
3Soccer
2Football
1Softball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Upper Township: April, June and August
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) | 9.8 | 10.7 | 11.8 | 13.2 | 14.3 | 14.8 | 14.6 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.0 | 9.5 |
| High (°F) | 43 | 47 | 56 | 69 | 77 | 84 | 87 | 86 | 80 | 69 | 56 | 46 |
| Rain (in) | 3.2 | 3.2 | 4.2 | 3.8 | 4.5 | 4.2 | 4.8 | 3.7 | 3.3 | 3.0 | 2.8 | 3.7 |
November is the driest month (2.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 87 °F). 4.8 inches fall in July, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 87 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Upper Township →
Next door
Upper 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Upper Township | 6% | under 0.1 | 2 | 50% | C− |
| Ironton | under 1% | under 0.1 | 1 | 54% | D |
| Hamilton Township | 42% | 1.4 | 8 | 18% | B+ |
| Coal Grove | 1% | under 0.1 | 8 | 83% | C− |
| Elizabeth Township | 57% | 1.2 | 4 | 2% | B |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Upper Township
Where can I hike in Upper Township?
The longest trail networks: Beechwood Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Upper 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 Upper Township’s trails?
Joe Swarts Sports Complex and Paul Porter Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Upper Township?
53,353 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Upper Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 896 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Upper Township have?
Ahead of 24% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #773 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 Upper 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 →