Fernwood State Forest
Managed by Ohio Department of Natural Resources
127 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Nyttend · Public domainB−Outdoors
Outdoors in Wells Township
15% of Wells Township’s land is conserved: 2,582 acres
97 acres are parks and preserves, 41 per 1,000 residents. 0.4 miles of mapped trail cross Wells Township. 41% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 53% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
15%
2,582 acres · of 26.8 sq mi of land
Trails
0.4 mi
0.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
97 ac
41 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
41%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.4 mi
0.4 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
3
What kind of outdoors town is Wells Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Wells Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Wells Township is ahead of 53% of U.S. towns. Conserved land holds the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
B−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Wells Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land15% of the land · typical OH town 3% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (0 mi) · OH 0.2 · U.S. 0.4C−Park land41 acres of park per 1,000 residents (97 acres) · OH 15 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home41% 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 53%
LessMore
NoteFew parks or trails are mapped in Wells 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
2,582 conserved acres
15% of Wells Township’s land. Who manages Wells Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Private owners2,486 ac
State natural resources94 ac
County2 ac
Private Other or Unknown · 2,486 acState Conservation Area · 94 acLocal Park · 1 acLocal Recreation Area · 1 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| American Electric Power - Cardinal Plant Private Other or Unknown | Private owners | 2,486 | Open |
| Fernwood State Forest State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 94 | Open |
| Phillipsburg Park Local Park | County | 1 | Open |
| Danny Duda Field Local Recreation Area | County | 1 | Open |
Things to do
4 places to go in Wells Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in Wells Township
1 public pool without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Wells Township
3 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
1 named trail and 3 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Township Highway 1600.2 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.4 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.4 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
3Baseball
2Basketball
1Tennis
1Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Wells Township: April 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) | 9.6 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 13.2 | 14.4 | 15.0 | 14.8 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 9.9 | 9.3 |
| High (°F) | 37 | 40 | 50 | 63 | 72 | 80 | 83 | 82 | 76 | 64 | 52 | 41 |
| Rain (in) | 3.1 | 2.5 | 3.3 | 3.6 | 4.2 | 4.6 | 4.0 | 3.7 | 3.6 | 3.0 | 2.9 | 3.1 |
February is the driest month (2.5 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 4.6 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Wells Township →
Next door
Wells Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Warren Township3.1 miSmithfield Township2.2 miWells Township0.4 miSteubenville Township0.1 miCross Creek Township0.1 miWellsburg0.0 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wells Township | 15% | under 0.1 | 41 | 41% | B− |
| Warren Township | under 1% | 0.1 | 5 | 58% | C− |
| Steubenville Township | under 1% | under 0.1 | 6 | 68% | C− |
| Cross Creek Township | 13% | under 0.1 | 336 | 33% | B |
| Smithfield Township | under 1% | 0.1 | under 1 | under 1% | D− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Wells Township
How much of Wells Township is conserved land?
15% 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 Wells Township’s trails?
Fernwood State Forest doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Wells Township?
0.4 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.4 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Wells Township?
9,807 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Wells Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 97 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Wells Township have?
Ahead of 53% 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 Wells 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 →