Walter Panek Park
Park
39 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Lee Paxton · CC BY-SA 4.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Ambridge
18% of Ambridge’s land is conserved, and virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park. 18% of Ambridge’s land is conserved, about 168 acres. 165 acres are parks and preserves, 24 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 83% of U.S. towns · #265 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Conserved land
18%
168 acres · of 1.5 sq mi of land
Trails
0.2 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
165 ac
24 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
2
What kind of outdoors town is Ambridge?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Ambridge have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Ambridge is ahead of 83% of U.S. towns, #265 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Ambridge’s overall grade.
Conserved land18% of the land · typical PA town 8% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (0 mi) · PA 0.4 · U.S. 0.4CPark land24 acres of park per 1,000 residents (165 acres) · PA 14 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to homeVirtually all residents within a half mile of a park · PA 73% · U.S. 72%A+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 83%
LessMore
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,037)Ahead of 75%
Pennsylvania towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 8%; the U.S., 4%), so Ambridge’s 18% is ahead of 76% of Pennsylvania towns, while its trails per square mile lead 24% of them.
Water is 13% of Ambridge’s area (0 of 2 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 16%.
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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Ambridge Borough Park
Park
38 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Old Economy Village
Park
3 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
168 conserved acres
18% of Ambridge’s land. Water is left out: Ambridge has 1.5 square miles of land and 0.2 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Ambridge’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Other or Unknown Local Government108 ac
Other state land5 ac
Not recorded92 ac
Local Park · 200 acState Historic or Cultural Area · 5 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 4 of 8 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ambridge Borough Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 105 | Open |
| Ambridge Borough Park / Walter Panek Park Local Park | Not recorded | 76 | Unknown |
| Park Road Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 12 | Open |
| Old Economy Village State Historic or Cultural Area | Other state land | 5 | Open |
| Ambridge High School Athletic Field Local Park | Not recorded | 4 | Unknown |
| Ambridge High School Ballfield Local Park | Not recorded | 2 | Unknown |
| P.J. Caul Memorial Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 1 | Open |
Trails & water
2 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
2Basketball
2Baseball
1Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →3 places on the National Register, one a National Historic Landmark
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.
When to get out
The best walking months in Ambridge: 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 | 15.1 | 14.8 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.9 | 9.3 |
| High (°F) | 37 | 41 | 50 | 63 | 73 | 81 | 85 | 83 | 77 | 65 | 52 | 42 |
| Rain (in) | 2.9 | 2.4 | 3.1 | 3.4 | 3.8 | 4.1 | 4.1 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 2.9 | 2.8 | 2.9 |
February is the driest month (2.4 in) and July the warmest (highs of 85 °F). 4.1 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Ambridge →
Next door
Ambridge 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ambridge | 18% | 0.1 | 24 | 99%+ | A− |
| Harmony Township | 5% | 0.3 | 29 | 95% | B+ |
| Leetsdale | 3% | 0.1 | 21 | 99%+ | B+ |
| Leet Township | 7% | 0.9 | 46 | 99%+ | A |
| Aliquippa | 1% | 0.3 | 3 | 72% | C |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Ambridge
How much of Ambridge is conserved land?
18% 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 Ambridge’s trails?
Walter Panek Park and Ambridge Borough Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Ambridge?
14,068 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Ambridge or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 165 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Ambridge have?
Ahead of 83% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #265 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 Ambridge 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 →