Bald Eagle State Forest
Managed by Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry
666 acres3.8 mi of trail
2076 Jeep TrailEast Kettle ATV (More Difficult)East Kettle ATV (Easy)
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Photo: Nicholas A. Tonelli · CC BY 2.0C+Outdoors
Outdoors in Center Township
7% of Center Township’s land is conserved: 906 acres
The biggest trail networks: Bald Eagle State Forest (3.8 mi). 24% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 10 acres are parks and preserves, 3.7 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 39% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
7%
906 acres · of 21.0 sq mi of land
Trails
9.3 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
10 ac
3.7 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
24%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
1
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Center Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Center Township is ahead of 39% of U.S. towns. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
C+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Center Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land7% of the land · typical PA town 8% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (9 mi) · PA 0.4 · U.S. 0.4BPark land3.7 acres of park per 1,000 residents (10 acres) · PA 14 · U.S. 13CParks close to home24% 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 39%
LessMore
Pennsylvania towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 8%; the U.S., 4%), so Center Township’s 7% is ahead of 44% of Pennsylvania towns, while its trails per square mile lead 51% 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 Bald Eagle State Forest, with 3.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
906 conserved acres
7% of Center Township’s land. Who manages Center Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County690 ac
State natural resources666 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits57 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government10 ac
Agricultural Easement · 690 acState Resource Management Area · 666 acUnknown Easement · 57 acLocal Park · 10 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 230 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bald Eagle State Forest State Resource Management Area | State natural resources | 666 | Open |
| Keene Community Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 10 | Open |
Things to do
1 places to go in Center Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Center Township
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
3 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 0.7 miHorses · 0.7 mi
2076 Jeep Trail1.0 mi
East Kettle ATV (More Difficult)0.3 mi
East Kettle ATV (Easy)0.3 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
1Baseball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Center Township: April to 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) | 9.5 | 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 | 39 | 48 | 62 | 72 | 80 | 84 | 82 | 75 | 63 | 51 | 40 |
| Rain (in) | 3.1 | 2.5 | 3.5 | 3.7 | 4.0 | 4.1 | 4.3 | 3.9 | 4.6 | 4.0 | 3.3 | 3.4 |
February is the driest month (2.5 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 4.6 inches fall in September, the wettest month. The climate in Center Township →
Next door
Center Township and its neighbors
Center Township has the most mapped trails of the 6 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Center Township9.3 miLimestone Township5.2 miFranklin Township2.4 miMiddlecreek Township1.9 miJackson Township1.7 miPenns Creek0.3 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Center Township | 7% | 0.4 | 4 | 24% | C+ |
| Limestone Township | 15% | 0.3 | 1 | 3% | C |
| Penns Creek | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Franklin Township | 18% | 0.1 | 4 | 19% | C |
| Middlecreek Township | 5% | 0.1 | 20 | 40% | B− |
| Jackson Township | 5% | 0.1 | 3 | 23% | C |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Center Township
Where can I hike in Center Township?
The longest trail networks: Bald Eagle State Forest, 3.8 miles; Keene Community Park, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Center Township is conserved land?
7% 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 Center Township’s trails?
Bald Eagle State Forest and Keene Community Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Center Township?
72,115 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Center Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 679 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Center Township have?
Ahead of 39% 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 Center 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 →