Zepernick Lake Wildlife Area
Managed by Ohio Department of Natural Resources
339 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
DOutdoors
Outdoors in West Township
Few parks or trails are on the map in West Township
5% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 11 acres are parks and preserves, 3.4 per 1,000 residents. 2% of West Township’s land is conserved, about 411 acres.
Ahead of 10% of U.S. towns · #921 of 993 in Ohio. What drives it
Conserved land
2%
411 acres · of 34.9 sq mi of land
Trails
0.0 mi
0.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
11 ac
3.4 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
5%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
5
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does West Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, West Township is ahead of 10% of U.S. towns, #921 of 993 in Ohio. All four inputs are below most U.S. towns; conserved land comes closest.
D
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of West Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land2% of the land · typical OH town 3% · U.S. 4%C+Trails0.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (0 mi) · OH 0.2 · U.S. 0.4DPark land3.4 acres of park per 1,000 residents (11 acres) · OH 15 · U.S. 13C−Parks close to home5% 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 10%
LessMore
Ohio towns of 2,500+ (993)Ahead of 7%
NoteFew parks or trails are mapped in West 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 still be 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
411 conserved acres
2% of West Township’s land. Who manages West Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources344 ac
Other state land56 ac
Town or city10 ac
State Conservation Area · 344 acUnknown Easement · 56 acLocal Park · 10 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 56 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zeppernick Lake Wildlife Area State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 344 | Restricted |
| West Township Rotary Park Local Park | Town or city | 10 | Open |
Trails & water
5 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
3Baseball
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in West Township: April, August 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) | 9.6 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 13.2 | 14.4 | 15.1 | 14.8 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.3 |
| High (°F) | 35 | 38 | 48 | 61 | 71 | 79 | 83 | 81 | 75 | 63 | 50 | 39 |
| Rain (in) | 2.9 | 2.3 | 3.2 | 3.7 | 4.0 | 4.7 | 4.2 | 3.6 | 3.7 | 3.3 | 2.8 | 2.9 |
February is the driest month (2.3 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 4.7 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in West Township →
Next door
West 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Township | 2% | under 0.1 | 3 | 5% | D |
| Paris Township | 1% | 0.1 | 5 | 38% | C− |
| Hanover Township | 3% | under 0.1 | 149 | 45% | B− |
| Knox Township | under 1% | 0.1 | under 1 | under 1% | D |
| Minerva | 2% | 0.5 | 11 | 92% | B |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in West Township
How much of West Township is conserved land?
2% 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 West Township’s trails?
Zepernick Lake Wildlife Area doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near West Township?
2,631 acres of parks and open public land lie inside West Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 11 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does West Township have?
Ahead of 10% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #921 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 West 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 →