Second Mountain Tract - Weiser State Forest
Nature preserve
532 acres1 mi of trail
Second Mountain Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: bazusa · CC BY 2.0BOutdoors
Outdoors in Branch Township
8% of Branch Township’s land is conserved: 564 acres
The biggest trail networks: Second Mountain Tract - Weiser State Forest (1 mi). 33 acres are parks and preserves, 17 per 1,000 residents. 4.3 miles of mapped trail cross Branch Township, 0.4 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 64% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
8%
564 acres · of 11.5 sq mi of land
Trails
4.3 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
33 ac
17 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
61%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
1
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Branch Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Branch Township is ahead of 64% of U.S. towns. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Branch Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land8% of the land · typical PA town 8% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (4 mi) · PA 0.4 · U.S. 0.4BPark land17 acres of park per 1,000 residents (33 acres) · PA 14 · U.S. 13BParks close to home61% of residents within a half mile of a park · PA 73% · U.S. 72%B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 64%
LessMore
Pennsylvania towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 8%; the U.S., 4%), so Branch Township’s 8% is ahead of 48% of Pennsylvania towns, while its trails per square mile lead 46% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B 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 Second Mountain Tract - Weiser State Forest, with 1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Weiser State Forest
Managed by Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry
532 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Recreational Complex
Park
5 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
564 conserved acres
8% of Branch Township’s land. Who manages Branch Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources907 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government32 ac
State Resource Management Area · 907 acLocal Park · 27 acLocal Recreation Area · 4 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weiser State Forest State Resource Management Area | State natural resources | 907 | Open |
| Llewellyn Community Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 27 | Open |
| Fourth Street Recreation Park Local Recreation Area | Other or Unknown Local Government | 4 | Open |
Things to do
3 places to go in Branch Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Branch Township
Branch Tot Lot
DirectionsPhoenix Park
DirectionsPlus 1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
1 named trail and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 0.7 mi
Second Mountain Trail1.0 mi
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
2Baseball
1Tennis
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Branch Township: April to June 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 | 9.8 | 9.3 |
| High (°F) | 35 | 38 | 47 | 60 | 70 | 79 | 83 | 81 | 74 | 62 | 50 | 40 |
| Rain (in) | 3.6 | 2.8 | 4.0 | 4.2 | 4.3 | 4.6 | 5.0 | 4.4 | 4.9 | 4.6 | 3.6 | 4.0 |
February is the driest month (2.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 5.0 inches fall in July, the wettest month. The climate in Branch Township →
Next door
Branch Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Reilly Township21 miNorth Manheim Township9.9 miWayne Township8.8 miBranch Township4.3 miPottsville1.6 miCass Township0.3 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Branch Township | 8% | 0.4 | 17 | 61% | B |
| Pottsville | 1% | 0.4 | 2 | 98% | C+ |
| North Manheim Township | 7% | 0.5 | 4 | 46% | B− |
| Wayne Township | 24% | 0.3 | 13 | 48% | B |
| Cass Township | under 1% | under 0.1 | 25 | 61% | C |
| Reilly Township | — 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 Branch Township
Where can I hike in Branch Township?
The longest trail networks: Second Mountain Tract - Weiser State Forest, 1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Branch Township is conserved land?
8% 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 Branch Township’s trails?
Second Mountain Tract - Weiser State Forest and Weiser State Forest don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Branch Township?
31,221 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Branch Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 570 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Branch Township have?
Ahead of 64% 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 Branch 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 →