Todd Nature Reserve
Nature preserve
216 acres5 mi of trail
Loop Trail (Red Blaze)Ravine (Purple Blaze)Shoop Trail (Red / White dot)Indian Pipe trail (White Blaze)+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: David Fulmer from Pittsburgh Uploaded by scillystuff · CC BY 2.0BOutdoors
Outdoors in Buffalo Township
Buffalo Township has 300 acres of parks, 37 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Todd Nature Reserve (5 mi). 6% of Buffalo Township’s land is conserved, about 999 acres. 43% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 64% of U.S. towns · #571 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Conserved land
6%
999 acres · of 24.1 sq mi of land
Trails
10 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
300 ac
37 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
43%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
6.3 mi
6.3 mi paths
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Buffalo Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Buffalo Township is ahead of 64% of U.S. towns, #571 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Buffalo Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land6% of the land · typical PA town 8% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (10 mi) · PA 0.4 · U.S. 0.4BPark land37 acres of park per 1,000 residents (300 acres) · PA 14 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home43% 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 64%
LessMore
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,037)Ahead of 45%
Pennsylvania towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 8%; the U.S., 4%), so Buffalo Township’s 6% is ahead of 43% of Pennsylvania towns, while its trails per square mile lead 48% 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 Todd Nature Reserve, with 5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
999 conserved acres
6% of Buffalo Township’s land. Who manages Buffalo Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits820 ac
County703 ac
Joint432 ac
State fish & wildlife67 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government47 ac
Private owners12 ac
Town or city5 ac
Agricultural Easement · 1,535 acPrivate Conservation · 712 acConservation Easement · 224 acLocal Recreation Area · 49 acResearch or Educational Area · 35 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 440 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 36 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Todd Nature Reserve Private Conservation | Not recorded | 361 | Open |
| Horrigan Tract Private Conservation | Not recorded | 112 | Closed |
| Todd Nature Reserve 2 Private Conservation | Not recorded | 84 | Open |
| Zeyloyle Tract Private Conservation | Not recorded | 67 | Closed |
| Butler-Freeport Community Trail Local Recreation Area | Other or Unknown Local Government | 44 | Open |
| Vantine Tract Private Conservation | Not recorded | 42 | Closed |
| Shoop Parcel Acquisition - (Todd Nature Reserve) Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 42 | Open |
| Freeport Area Senior High School Research or Educational Area | Not recorded | 35 | Open |
| Learnerville Ballfields Local Park | Private owners | 12 | Open |
| Lernerville Ballfields Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 6 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
1 places to go in Buffalo Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Buffalo Township
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
9 named trails
Named trails
Unpaved · 4.8 mi
Loop Trail (Red Blaze)1.9 mi
Ravine (Purple Blaze)0.7 mi
Shoop Trail (Red / White dot)0.7 mi
Indian Pipe trail (White Blaze)0.5 mi
Pond Trail (Yellow Blaze)0.4 mi
Polypody trail (Orange Blaze)0.3 mi
Hemlock (Green Blaze)0.1 mi
Warbler (Blue Blaze)0.1 mi
Pond Trail Yellow Blaze)0.1 mi
Biking & sports
6.3 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
6.3 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
2Baseball
2Football
1Tennis
1Basketball
1Soccer
1Beach volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Buffalo Township: April, August and September
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) | 36 | 40 | 49 | 62 | 72 | 80 | 84 | 82 | 76 | 64 | 51 | 41 |
| Rain (in) | 3.2 | 2.6 | 3.3 | 3.6 | 4.0 | 4.7 | 4.5 | 3.9 | 3.9 | 3.2 | 3.2 | 3.3 |
February is the driest month (2.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 4.7 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Buffalo Township →
Next door
Buffalo Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Harrison Township21 miAllegheny Township11 miBuffalo Township10 miSouth Buffalo Township9.8 miFawn Township4.3 miClinton Township3.7 miFreeport0.5 miWinfield Township0.1 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buffalo Township | 6% | 0.4 | 37 | 43% | B |
| Freeport | 11% | 0.4 | 51 | 99%+ | A |
| Fawn Township | 1% | 0.3 | 31 | 7% | C+ |
| Winfield Township | 2% | under 0.1 | 12 | 43% | C |
| Clinton Township | 6% | 0.2 | 28 | 5% | C+ |
| Harrison Township | 13% | 2.9 | 65 | 73% | A |
| South Buffalo Township | 1% | 0.4 | 16 | 17% | C+ |
| Allegheny Township | 4% | 0.4 | 112 | 46% | B |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Buffalo Township
Where can I hike in Buffalo Township?
The longest trail networks: Todd Nature Reserve, 5 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Buffalo Township is conserved land?
6% 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 Buffalo Township’s trails?
Todd Nature Reserve doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Buffalo Township?
6.3 miles of bike routes are on the map: 6.3 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Buffalo Township?
8,552 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Buffalo Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 305 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Buffalo Township have?
Ahead of 64% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #571 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 Buffalo 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 →