Silver Lake Park
Managed by Bucks County Department of Parks and Recreation
267 acres3.8 mi of trail
Silver Lake Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trailheadWebsite ↗
Photo: Smallbones · Public domainAOutdoors
Outdoors in Bristol Township
12% of Bristol Township’s land is conserved, and 98% of residents live within a half mile of a park
12% of Bristol Township’s land is conserved, about 1,186 acres. The biggest trail networks: Silver Lake Park (3.8 mi), Neshaminy State Park (1.6 mi). 10 miles of mapped trail cross Bristol Township, 0.7 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 87% of U.S. towns · #185 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Conserved land
12%
1,186 acres · of 15.8 sq mi of land
Trails
10 mi
0.7 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,066 ac
20 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
98%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.8 mi
1.8 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
4
1 beach · 3 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Bristol Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Bristol Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Bristol Township is ahead of 87% of U.S. towns, #185 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of residents near a park ranks highest, park acres per resident lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Bristol Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land12% of the land · typical PA town 8% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.7 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (10 mi) · PA 0.4 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land20 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,066 acres) · PA 14 · U.S. 13BParks close to home98% 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 87%
LessMore
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,037)Ahead of 82%
Pennsylvania towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 8%; the U.S., 4%), so Bristol Township’s 12% is ahead of 63% of Pennsylvania towns, while its trails per square mile lead 64% of them.
Water is 7% of Bristol Township’s area (1 of 17 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 11%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from A− 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 Silver Lake Park, with 3.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Neshaminy State Park
Managed by Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
86 acres1.6 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Marie Lowe Recreation Park
Park
5 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Pacific Avenue Park
Park
1 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 5 parks & preserves
Silver Lake Park267 acres · 3.8 mi of trail · Bucks County Department of Parks and Recreation
DirectionsNeshaminy State Park86 acres · 1.6 mi of trail · Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
DirectionsMarie Lowe Recreation Park5 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Pacific Avenue Park1 acres
Violetwood Park1 acres
Who protects it
1,186 conserved acres
12% of Bristol Township’s land. Water is left out: Bristol Township has 15.8 square miles of land and 1.3 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Bristol Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Other or Unknown Local Government984 ac
State parks190 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits170 ac
County12 ac
Not recorded374 ac
Local Park · 751 acPrivate Conservation · 244 acState Park · 190 acLocal Recreation Area · 190 acLocal Other or Unknown · 171 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 37 of 78 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Croydon Woods Private Conservation | Not recorded | 244 | Open |
| Delhaas Woods Local Recreation Area | Other or Unknown Local Government | 237 | Open |
| Silver Lake County Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 237 | Open |
| Black Ditch Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 176 | Open |
| Neshaminy State Park State Park | State parks | 171 | Open |
| Delhass Woods Local Conservation Area | Other or Unknown Local Government | 155 | Unknown |
| Queen Anne Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 119 | Open |
| Mill Creek Greenway Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 60 | Closed |
| Vfw Memorial Field Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 31 | Unknown |
| Undeveloped (Neshaminy Land) Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 30 | Unknown |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
21 places to go in Bristol Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Bristol Township
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Bristol Township
Brookwood Elementary School - Playground
DirectionsOrangewood Playground
DirectionsSalvation Army Park
DirectionsPlus 11 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Bristol Township
3 boat launches without a name on the map.
Fishing spots in Bristol Township
1 fishing spot without a name on the map.
Scenic views in Bristol Township
1 scenic view without a name on the map.
Picnic areas in Bristol Township
1 picnic area without a name on the map.
Trails & water
3 named trails and 4 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 1.2 miUnpaved · 2.6 mi
Silver Lake Trail2.1 mi
Willow Oak Trail - Delhaas Woods1.3 mi
Bucks Trail - Delhaas Woods1.0 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
1.8 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.8 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
11Baseball
5Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →2 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.
When to get out
The best walking months in Bristol 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) | 42 | 45 | 53 | 65 | 74 | 83 | 87 | 85 | 79 | 67 | 56 | 46 |
| Rain (in) | 3.4 | 2.8 | 4.1 | 3.7 | 3.8 | 4.3 | 4.9 | 4.4 | 4.1 | 3.9 | 3.2 | 4.2 |
February is the driest month (2.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 87 °F). 4.9 inches fall in July, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 87 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Bristol Township →
Next door
Bristol Township and its neighbors
Bristol Township has the second most mapped trails of the 8 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Middletown Township21 miBristol Township10 miBensalem Township9.7 miBurlington3.6 miCroydon2.8 miLevittown2.4 miFlorence Township1.5 miBristol0.9 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bristol Township | 12% | 0.7 | 20 | 98% | A |
| Bristol | 15% | 0.5 | 13 | 99%+ | A |
| Bensalem Township | 11% | 0.5 | 20 | 99% | A |
| Croydon | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Middletown Township | 21% | 1.1 | 46 | 99% | A+ |
| Levittown | — 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 Bristol Township
Where can I hike in Bristol Township?
The longest trail networks: Silver Lake Park, 3.8 miles; Neshaminy State Park, 1.6 miles; Marie Lowe Recreation Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Bristol Township is conserved land?
12% 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 Bristol Township’s trails?
Silver Lake Park and Neshaminy State Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Bristol Township?
1.8 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.8 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Bristol Township?
32,427 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Bristol Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,066 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Bristol Township have?
Ahead of 87% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #185 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 Bristol 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 →