State Game Lands Number 52
Managed by Pennsylvania Game Commission
1,172 acres2.7 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Shuvaev · CC BY-SA 3.0B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Brecknock Township
17% of Brecknock Township’s land is conserved: 1,965 acres
15 miles of mapped trail cross Brecknock Township, 0.8 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: State Game Lands Number 52 (2.7 mi), Buxton Conservancy (1.9 mi). 36% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 67% of U.S. towns · #529 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Conserved land
17%
1,965 acres · of 17.7 sq mi of land
Trails
15 mi
0.8 per sq mi of land
Park land
49 ac
11 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
36%
of residents within ½ mile
What kind of outdoors town is Brecknock Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Brecknock Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Brecknock Township is ahead of 67% of U.S. towns, #529 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Brecknock Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land17% of the land · typical PA town 8% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.8 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (15 mi) · PA 0.4 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land11 acres of park per 1,000 residents (49 acres) · PA 14 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to home36% 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 67%
LessMore
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,037)Ahead of 49%
Pennsylvania towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 8%; the U.S., 4%), so Brecknock Township’s 17% is ahead of 75% of Pennsylvania towns, while its trails per square mile lead 72% 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 State Game Lands Number 52, with 2.7 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Buxton Conservancy
Nature preserve
48 acres1.9 mi of trail
Loop TrailHomestead TrailRidge TrailConnector Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trail sign
Who protects it
1,965 conserved acres
17% of Brecknock Township’s land. Who manages Brecknock Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits1,765 ac
State fish & wildlife1,237 ac
County1,097 ac
Town or city9 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)2 ac
Not recorded47 ac
State Resource Management Area · 1,172 acAgricultural Easement · 1,097 acForest Stewardship Easement · 794 acConservation Easement · 590 acUnknown Easement · 385 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 746 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| State Game Land 052 State Resource Management Area | State fish & wildlife | 1,172 | Open |
| Sgl 052 State Recreation Area | State fish & wildlife | 65 | Open |
| Municipal Land Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 47 | Open |
Things to do
3 places to go in Brecknock Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in Brecknock Township
Penn Sylvan Health Society Pool
DirectionsScenic views in Brecknock Township
Valley ViewIn Buxton Conservancy
DirectionsCampgrounds in Brecknock Township
PSHS Inc.
DirectionsTrails & water
5 named trails
Named trails
Open to bikes · 7.8 miHorses · 3.9 miUnpaved · 1.8 mi
Horse-Shoe Trail6.8 mi
Loop Trail1.1 mi
Homestead Trail0.2 mi
Ridge Trail0.1 mi
Connector Trail0.1 mi
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Alleghany Mennonite MeetinghouseBuilding · listed 2009
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Brecknock 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 | 15.0 | 14.8 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 9.9 | 9.3 |
| High (°F) | 38 | 41 | 50 | 63 | 72 | 80 | 85 | 83 | 76 | 64 | 53 | 43 |
| Rain (in) | 3.3 | 2.6 | 3.9 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 4.4 | 4.8 | 4.4 | 4.8 | 4.3 | 3.3 | 3.9 |
February is the driest month (2.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 85 °F). 4.8 inches fall in September, the wettest month. The climate in Brecknock Township →
Next door
Brecknock Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Cumru Township104 miRobeson Township90 miSpring Township24 miBrecknock Township15 miCaernarvon Township4.2 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brecknock Township | 17% | 0.8 | 11 | 36% | B+ |
| Cumru Township | 10% | 5.0 | 14 | 69% | A− |
| Spring Township | 6% | 1.3 | 12 | 91% | A− |
| Robeson Township | 15% | 2.6 | 93 | 38% | A |
| Caernarvon 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 Brecknock Township
Where can I hike in Brecknock Township?
The longest trail networks: State Game Lands Number 52, 2.7 miles; Buxton Conservancy, 1.9 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Brecknock Township is conserved land?
17% 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 Brecknock Township’s trails?
State Game Lands Number 52 and Buxton Conservancy don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Brecknock Township?
33,880 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Brecknock Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,230 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Brecknock Township have?
Ahead of 67% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #529 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 Brecknock 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 →