Oakside Community Park
Managed by Upper Adams Jaycees
93 acres1.3 mi of trail
Dogs allowed
Directionsto the trail sign
BOutdoors
Outdoors in Butler Township
14% of Butler Township’s land is conserved: 2,168 acres
138 acres are parks and preserves, 53 per 1,000 residents. The biggest trail networks: Oakside Community Park (1.3 mi). 27% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 58% of U.S. towns · #657 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Conserved land
14%
2,168 acres · of 23.9 sq mi of land
Trails
3.0 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
138 ac
53 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
27%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.4 mi
1.4 mi paths
Highest peak
709 ft
Stone Jug Hill
Lakes & rivers
2
What kind of outdoors town is Butler Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Butler Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Butler Township is ahead of 58% of U.S. towns, #657 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 Butler Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land14% of the land · typical PA town 8% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (3 mi) · PA 0.4 · U.S. 0.4CPark land53 acres of park per 1,000 residents (138 acres) · PA 14 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home27% 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 58%
LessMore
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,037)Ahead of 37%
Pennsylvania towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 8%; the U.S., 4%), so Butler Township’s 14% is ahead of 69% of Pennsylvania towns, while its trails per square mile lead 23% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ 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 Oakside Community Park, with 1.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
State Game Lands Number 249
Managed by Pennsylvania Game Commission
217 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Who protects it
2,168 conserved acres
14% of Butler Township’s land. Who manages Butler Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County4,071 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits2,626 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)599 ac
State fish & wildlife281 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government117 ac
Not recorded19 ac
Agricultural Easement · 5,102 acForest Stewardship Easement · 1,396 acConservation Easement · 797 acState Resource Management Area · 217 acLocal Park · 118 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1,752 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 104 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| State Game Land 249 State Resource Management Area | State fish & wildlife | 217 | Open |
| Oakside Community Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 117 | Open |
| Conewego Creek Fishing Access State Other or Unknown | State fish & wildlife | 64 | Open |
| Municipal Land Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 18 | Open |
| Conewago Creek Local Park | Not recorded | 1 | Unknown |
Things to do
8 places to go in Butler Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Butler Township
6 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Butler Township
1 dog park without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Peaks in Butler Township
Stone Jug Hill709 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
2 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
1.4 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.4 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
16Soccer
10Baseball
2Basketball
1Football
1Softball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Butler 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 | 14.7 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 9.9 | 9.3 |
| High (°F) | 39 | 42 | 51 | 63 | 73 | 82 | 86 | 84 | 77 | 65 | 53 | 43 |
| Rain (in) | 3.2 | 2.6 | 3.7 | 3.8 | 4.1 | 4.1 | 4.0 | 3.5 | 4.7 | 3.8 | 3.2 | 3.4 |
February is the driest month (2.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 86 °F). 4.7 inches fall in September, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 86 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Butler Township →
Next door
Butler Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Franklin Township62 miMenallen Township22 miCumberland Township18 miButler Township3.0 miTyrone Township1.9 miStraban Township1.9 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Butler Township | 14% | 0.1 | 53 | 27% | B |
| Tyrone Township | 12% | 0.1 | under 1 | under 1% | C− |
| Franklin Township | 44% | 0.9 | 205 | 11% | A− |
| Menallen Township | 32% | 0.5 | 29 | 6% | B+ |
| Straban Township | 6% | 0.1 | 3 | 5% | C− |
| Cumberland Township | 33% | 0.5 | under 1 | 18% | B− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Butler Township
Where can I hike in Butler Township?
The longest trail networks: Oakside Community Park, 1.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Butler Township is conserved land?
14% 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 Butler Township’s trails?
OpenStreetMap records dogs as welcome at Oakside Community Park. For the rest, check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Butler Township?
1.4 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.4 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Butler Township?
65,376 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Butler Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 420 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Butler Township have?
Ahead of 58% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #657 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 Butler 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 →