Little Buffalo State Park
Managed by Pennsylvania Bureau of State Parks
524 acres7.3 mi of trail
Buffalo Ridge TrailLittle Buffalo Creek TrailFishermans TrailMill Race Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: Ben Winslow · CC BY-SA 2.0BOutdoors
Outdoors in Centre Township
Centre Township has 545 acres of parks, 216 for every 1,000 residents
10% of Centre Township’s land is conserved, about 1,991 acres. The biggest trail networks: Little Buffalo State Park (7.3 mi). 7.6 miles of mapped trail cross Centre Township, 0.3 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 61% of U.S. towns · #618 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Conserved land
10%
1,991 acres · of 30.0 sq mi of land
Trails
7.6 mi
0.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
545 ac
216 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
10%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Centre Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Centre Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Centre Township is ahead of 61% of U.S. towns, #618 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 Centre Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land10% of the land · typical PA town 8% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (8 mi) · PA 0.4 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land216 acres of park per 1,000 residents (545 acres) · PA 14 · U.S. 13AParks close to home10% of residents within a half mile of a park · PA 73% · U.S. 72%D
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 61%
LessMore
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,037)Ahead of 40%
Pennsylvania towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 8%; the U.S., 4%), so Centre Township’s 10% is ahead of 58% of Pennsylvania towns, while its trails per square mile lead 36% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ 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 Little Buffalo State Park, with 7.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
State Game Lands Number 256
Managed by Pennsylvania Game Commission
302 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Tuscarora State Forest
Managed by Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry
10 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Hoverter and Sholl Box Huckleberry Natural Area
Managed by Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry
10 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
1,991 conserved acres
10% of Centre Township’s land. Who manages Centre Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County4,075 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)945 ac
State parks524 ac
State fish & wildlife293 ac
State natural resources10 ac
Not recorded38 ac
Agricultural Easement · 5,020 acState Park · 562 acState Resource Management Area · 293 acState Conservation Area · 10 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1,163 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Little Buffalo State Park State Park | State parks | 562 | Open |
| State Game Land 256 State Resource Management Area | State fish & wildlife | 293 | Open |
| Hoverter and Sholl Box Huckleberry Natural Area State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 10 | Open |
Trails & water
4 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 0.9 mi
Buffalo Ridge Trail1.4 mi
Little Buffalo Creek Trail1.2 mi
Fishermans Trail0.6 mi
Mill Race Trail0.4 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Little Buffalo Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1978
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Centre 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) | 9.6 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 13.2 | 14.4 | 15.0 | 14.8 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.9 | 9.3 |
| High (°F) | 36 | 40 | 49 | 62 | 71 | 80 | 84 | 82 | 75 | 63 | 52 | 41 |
| Rain (in) | 3.1 | 2.7 | 3.9 | 3.9 | 4.1 | 4.3 | 4.1 | 4.0 | 4.4 | 3.9 | 3.3 | 3.5 |
February is the driest month (2.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 4.4 inches fall in September, the wettest month. The climate in Centre Township →
Next door
Centre Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Carroll Township13 miSpring Township7.7 miCentre Township7.6 miJuniata Township4.6 miSaville Township4.4 miWheatfield Township2.3 miOliver Township1.6 miMiller Township0.2 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Centre Township | 10% | 0.3 | 216 | 10% | B |
| Juniata Township | 5% | 0.2 | 255 | 12% | B− |
| Saville Township | 9% | 0.1 | 2 | 10% | C− |
| Wheatfield Township | 10% | 0.1 | 83 | 5% | B− |
| Carroll Township | 2% | 0.4 | 26 | 32% | C+ |
| Spring Township | 7% | 0.3 | under 1 | under 1% | C− |
| Miller Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Oliver Township | 3% | 0.2 | 21 | 68% | B− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Centre Township
Where can I hike in Centre Township?
The longest trail networks: Little Buffalo State Park, 7.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Centre Township is conserved land?
10% 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 Centre Township’s trails?
Little Buffalo State Park and State Game Lands Number 256 don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Centre Township?
33,777 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Centre Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 843 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Centre Township have?
Ahead of 61% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #618 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 Centre 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 →