Ruth Zimmerman Natural Area
Managed by Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry
79 acres3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Nicholas · CC BY 2.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Alsace Township
Alsace Township has 60 miles of mapped trails, 4.9 for every square mile of land
140 acres are parks and preserves, 36 per 1,000 residents. The biggest trail networks: Ruth Zimmerman Natural Area (3 mi), Mount Penn Preserve (1.9 mi), Bob's Woods at Earl Poole Sanctuary (1.9 mi). 51% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 76% of U.S. towns · #358 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Conserved land
3%
242 acres · of 12.2 sq mi of land
Trails
60 mi
4.9 per sq mi of land
Park land
140 ac
36 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
51%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.3 mi
0.3 mi paths
Highest peak
1,089 ft
Church Hill
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Alsace Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Alsace Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Alsace Township is ahead of 76% of U.S. towns, #358 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. Trail miles hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Alsace Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land3% of the land · typical PA town 8% · U.S. 4%B−Trails4.9 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (60 mi) · PA 0.4 · U.S. 0.4A+Park land36 acres of park per 1,000 residents (140 acres) · PA 14 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home51% of residents within a half mile of a park · PA 73% · U.S. 72%C+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 76%
LessMore
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,037)Ahead of 66%
Pennsylvania towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 8%; the U.S., 4%), so Alsace Township’s 3% is ahead of 22% of Pennsylvania towns, while its trails per square mile lead 99% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A. 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
The longest trail network is Ruth Zimmerman Natural Area, with 3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Mount Penn Preserve
Managed by Mount Penn Preserve Partnership Council of Governments
102 acres1.9 mi of trail
VietnamBlue Dot Trail
Dogs allowed
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Bob's Woods at Earl Poole Sanctuary
Managed by Berks County Parks and Recreation
39 acres1.9 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trailhead
Antietam Lake Park
Managed by Berks County Parks and Recreation Department
40 acres1.2 mi of trail
Antietam Reservoir Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 6 parks & preserves
Ruth Zimmerman Natural Area79 acres · 3 mi of trail · Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry
DirectionsMount Penn Preserve102 acres · 1.9 mi of trail · Mount Penn Preserve Partnership Council of Governments
Bob's Woods at Earl Poole Sanctuary39 acres · 1.9 mi of trail · Berks County Parks and Recreation
DirectionsAntietam Lake Park40 acres · 1.2 mi of trail · Berks County Parks and Recreation Department
DirectionsWilliam Penn State Forest79 acres · Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry
Alsace Playground1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
242 conserved acres
3% of Alsace Township’s land. Who manages Alsace Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits227 ac
County86 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government76 ac
State natural resources64 ac
Not recorded111 ac
Forest Stewardship Easement · 179 acAgricultural Easement · 86 acState Resource Management Area · 64 acPrivate Conservation · 50 acLocal Park · 48 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 70 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 28 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Antietam Lake Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 40 | Open |
| Bob's Woods at the Earl Poole Sanctuary Private Conservation | Not recorded | 38 | Open |
| William Penn State Forest - Ruth Zimmerman Natural Area State Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 33 | Open |
| Ruth Zimmerman Natural Area State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 33 | Open |
| Mount Penn Preserve Local Conservation Area | Other or Unknown Local Government | 32 | Open |
| William Penn State Forest State Resource Management Area | State natural resources | 31 | Open |
| Municipal Land Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 23 | Open |
| Poole Annex Private Conservation | Not recorded | 12 | Open |
| Berks County Park Local Park | Not recorded | 4 | Unknown |
| Alsace Township Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 4 | Open |
Things to do
5 places to go in Alsace Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Alsace Township
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Peaks in Alsace Township
Church Hill1,089 ft elevation
DirectionsDeer Path Hill1,070 ft elevation
DirectionsChapel Hill932 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
3 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Vietnam0.3 mi
Antietam Reservoir Trail0.2 mi
Blue Dot Trail0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.3 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.3 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
2Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Alsace Township: April and May
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 | 11.0 | 9.9 | 9.3 |
| High (°F) | 37 | 40 | 49 | 62 | 71 | 80 | 84 | 82 | 75 | 64 | 52 | 42 |
| Rain (in) | 3.6 | 2.7 | 3.8 | 3.8 | 4.0 | 4.7 | 5.0 | 4.8 | 5.0 | 4.5 | 3.4 | 3.9 |
February is the driest month (2.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 5.0 inches fall in September, the wettest month. The climate in Alsace Township →
Next door
Alsace Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Exeter Township128 miLower Alsace Township75 miAlsace Township60 miMuhlenberg Township39 miOley Township15 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alsace Township | 3% | 4.9 | 36 | 51% | A− |
| Muhlenberg Township | 5% | 3.3 | 20 | 96% | A |
| Exeter Township | 11% | 5.3 | 33 | 82% | A |
| Lower Alsace Township | 49% | 15.6 | 261 | 96% | A+ |
| Oley Township | 49% | 0.6 | 19 | 40% | B+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Alsace Township
Where can I hike in Alsace Township?
The longest trail networks: Ruth Zimmerman Natural Area, 3 miles; Mount Penn Preserve, 1.9 miles; Bob's Woods at Earl Poole Sanctuary, 1.9 miles; Antietam Lake Park, 1.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Alsace Township is conserved land?
3% of its land, against a typical 8% for a Pennsylvania town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Alsace Township’s trails?
OpenStreetMap records dogs as welcome at Mount Penn Preserve. For the rest, check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Alsace Township?
0.3 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.3 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Alsace Township?
21,191 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Alsace Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 173 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Alsace Township have?
Ahead of 76% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #358 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. 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 Alsace 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 →