Valley View County Park
Park
30 acres1.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0B−Outdoors
Outdoors in Altoona
97% of residents live within a half mile of a park in Altoona
The biggest trail networks: Valley View County Park (1.2 mi). 163 acres are parks and preserves, 3.8 per 1,000 residents. 4.0 miles of mapped trail cross Altoona, 0.4 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 52% of U.S. towns · #716 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Conserved land
2%
146 acres · of 9.8 sq mi of land
Trails
4.0 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
163 ac
3.8 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
97%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.6 mi
0.6 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
2
What kind of outdoors town is Altoona?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Altoona have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Altoona is ahead of 52% of U.S. towns, #716 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
B−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Altoona’s overall grade.
Conserved land2% of the land · typical PA town 8% · U.S. 4%C+Trails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (4 mi) · PA 0.4 · U.S. 0.4BPark land3.8 acres of park per 1,000 residents (163 acres) · PA 14 · U.S. 13CParks close to home97% of residents within a half mile of a park · PA 73% · U.S. 72%A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 52%
LessMore
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,037)Ahead of 31%
Pennsylvania towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 8%; the U.S., 4%), so Altoona’s 2% is ahead of 15% of Pennsylvania towns, while its trails per square mile lead 47% of 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
The longest trail network is Valley View County Park, with 1.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Highland Park
Park
19 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Tuckahoe Park
Park
4 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
146 conserved acres
2% of Altoona’s land. Who manages Altoona’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Other or Unknown Local Government140 ac
Town or city9 ac
Not recorded4 ac
Local Park · 107 acLocal Recreation Area · 44 acLocal Other or Unknown · 3 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Valley View County Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 33 | Open |
| Highland Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 15 | Open |
| Veterans Field Baseball Park Local Recreation Area | Other or Unknown Local Government | 12 | Open |
| South 13th Street Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 9 | Open |
| Juniata Memorial Park and Pool Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 9 | Open |
| Oakridge Ballfield Local Recreation Area | Other or Unknown Local Government | 8 | Open |
| Garfield Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 8 | Open |
| Mansion Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 7 | Open |
| Kustaborder Field Local Recreation Area | Other or Unknown Local Government | 6 | Open |
| Baseball Fields Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 6 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
8 places to go in Altoona
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Altoona
8 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
2 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 1.6 mi
Eastern Light Cemetery0.2 mi
East Hudson Avenue Alley0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.6 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.6 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
13Baseball
7Football
6Tennis
6Pickleball
5Soccer
5Tracks
4Basketball
1Skate park
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →12 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 1 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Mishler TheatreBuilding · listed 1973
About itBaker MansionBuilding · listed 1975
About itCentral Trust Company BuildingsBuilding · listed 1984
About itPenn Alto HotelBuilding · listed 1989
About itAllegheny FurnaceStructure · listed 1991
About itDowntown Altoona Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1992
About itNoble, J. L. SchoolBuilding · listed 1996
About itKnickerbocker Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2002
About itBroad Avenue Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2002
About itLlyswen Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2002
About itKeith, D.S., Junior High SchoolBuilding · listed 2011
About itJaffa MosqueBuilding · listed 2025
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Altoona: April to 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 | 15.1 | 14.8 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.9 | 9.3 |
| High (°F) | 36 | 39 | 49 | 62 | 72 | 80 | 84 | 82 | 75 | 64 | 51 | 40 |
| Rain (in) | 2.7 | 2.4 | 3.3 | 3.6 | 3.9 | 4.0 | 3.8 | 3.7 | 4.0 | 3.3 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
February is the driest month (2.4 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 4.0 inches fall in September, the wettest month. The climate in Altoona →
Next door
Altoona 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Altoona | 2% | 0.4 | 4 | 97% | B− |
| Logan Township | 10% | 0.6 | 66 | 39% | B+ |
| Eldorado | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Allegheny Township | 21% | 1.0 | 13 | 13% | B |
| Greenwood | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Altoona
Where can I hike in Altoona?
The longest trail networks: Valley View County Park, 1.2 miles; Highland Park, 0.3 miles; Prospect Park, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Altoona is conserved land?
2% 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 Altoona’s trails?
Valley View County Park and Highland Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Altoona?
0.6 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.6 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Altoona?
65,678 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Altoona or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 163 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Altoona have?
Ahead of 52% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #716 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 Altoona 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 →