Few parks or trails are on the map in Philadelphia
94% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 0.5 miles of mapped trail cross Philadelphia, 0.5 per square mile of land. 1% of Philadelphia’s land is conserved, about 7 acres.
Ahead of 56% of U.S. towns. What drives it
What kind of outdoors town is Philadelphia?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
How much outdoors does Philadelphia have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Philadelphia is ahead of 56% of U.S. towns. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
7 conserved acres
1% of Philadelphia’s land. Who manages Philadelphia’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 1 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia Village of Land Local Park | Town or city | 7 | Unknown |
1 places to go in Philadelphia
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
1 named trail and 1 lakes & rivers
0.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
The best walking months in Philadelphia: May 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) | 9.2 | 10.4 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.7 | 15.5 | 15.2 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.5 | 8.9 |
| High (°F) | 28 | 30 | 40 | 54 | 67 | 75 | 80 | 79 | 71 | 58 | 45 | 34 |
| Rain (in) | 3.3 | 2.5 | 2.8 | 3.4 | 3.4 | 3.7 | 3.4 | 3.6 | 3.8 | 4.6 | 3.8 | 3.5 |
February is the driest month (2.5 in) and July the warmest (highs of 80 °F). 4.6 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Philadelphia →
Questions about parks and trails in Philadelphia
How much of Philadelphia is conserved land?
1% of its land, against a typical 5% for a New York town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Is there public land near Philadelphia?
5,553 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Philadelphia or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 8 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Philadelphia have?
Ahead of 56% 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 Philadelphia neighbors.
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 →