Brinton Run Preserve
Managed by North American Land Trust
71 acres2.2 mi of trail
Howe TrailGreene Trail
No dogs
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Andrew Kuerner Farm-Wyeth Studio · Photo: Smallbones · CC0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Chadds Ford Township
31% of Chadds Ford Township’s land is conserved: 1,690 acres
244 acres are parks and preserves, 61 per 1,000 residents. 9.5 miles of mapped trail cross Chadds Ford Township, 1.1 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Brinton Run Preserve (2.2 mi), Brandywine Battlefield Park (0.5 mi).
Ahead of 91% of U.S. towns · #114 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Conserved land
31%
1,690 acres · of 8.7 sq mi of land
Trails
9.5 mi
1.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
244 ac
61 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
66%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
2
What kind of outdoors town is Chadds Ford Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Chadds Ford Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Chadds Ford Township is ahead of 91% of U.S. towns, #114 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; conserved land ranks highest, the share of residents near a park lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Chadds Ford Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land31% of the land · typical PA town 8% · U.S. 4%ATrails1.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (10 mi) · PA 0.4 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land61 acres of park per 1,000 residents (244 acres) · PA 14 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home66% of residents within a half mile of a park · PA 73% · U.S. 72%B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 91%
LessMore
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,037)Ahead of 89%
Pennsylvania towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 8%; the U.S., 4%), so Chadds Ford Township’s 31% is ahead of 90% of Pennsylvania towns, while its trails per square mile lead 80% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would still be 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 Brinton Run Preserve, with 2.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Brandywine Battlefield Park
Park
48 acres0.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Who protects it
1,690 conserved acres
31% of Chadds Ford Township’s land. Who manages Chadds Ford Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits4,027 ac
Town or city309 ac
National Park Service214 ac
County178 ac
Other state land80 ac
Not recorded597 ac
Conservation Easement · 3,798 acPrivate Conservation · 643 acAgricultural Easement · 355 acHistoric or Cultural Area · 214 acHistoric or Cultural Easement · 155 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1,043 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 6 of 135 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brandywine Conservancy Property Private Conservation | Not recorded | 487 | Unknown |
| Brinton Run Preserve Private Conservation | Not recorded | 233 | Open |
| First State National Historical Park Historic or Cultural Area | National Park Service | 214 | Restricted |
| Municipal Land Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 80 | Open |
| Brandywine Battlefield State Historic or Cultural Area | Other state land | 47 | Open |
| Brandywine Battlefield Park State Historic or Cultural Area | Other state land | 34 | Open |
| Brandywine River Museum Campus Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 1 | Open |
Things to do
3 places to go in Chadds Ford Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in Chadds Ford Township
1 public pool without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Chadds Ford Township
1 playground without a name on the map.
Picnic areas in Chadds Ford Township
1 picnic area without a name on the map.
Trails & water
4 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 2.8 mi
Howe Trail0.8 mi
Greene Trail0.7 mi
Saint Cornelius Church Hiking Path0.3 mi
Mt. Scarpo0.2 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
5Tennis
2Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →10 places on the National Register, 4 of them National Historic Landmarks
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
★
Andrew Wyeth Studio and Kuerner Farm (Boundary Expansion and Additional Documentation)National Historic Landmark · District · listed 2014
About itChad HouseBuilding · listed 1971
About itGilpin HomesteadBuilding · listed 1971
About itWilliam Painter FarmBuilding · listed 1971
About itChadds Ford Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1971
About itTwaddell's Mill and HouseBuilding · listed 1973
About itPainter’s FollyBuilding · listed 2024
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Chadds Ford 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 | 9.4 |
| High (°F) | 40 | 43 | 52 | 64 | 73 | 82 | 86 | 84 | 78 | 66 | 55 | 45 |
| Rain (in) | 3.4 | 2.8 | 4.3 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 4.4 | 4.6 | 4.4 | 4.8 | 4.1 | 3.4 | 4.1 |
February is the driest month (2.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 86 °F). 4.8 inches fall in September, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 86 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Chadds Ford Township →
Next door
Chadds Ford Township and its neighbors
Chadds Ford Township has the second most mapped trails of the 5 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Concord Township16 miChadds Ford Township9.5 miThornbury Township9.2 miPennsbury Township6.2 miBirmingham Township2.6 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chadds Ford Township | 31% | 1.1 | 61 | 66% | A |
| Pennsbury Township | 34% | 0.6 | 37 | 63% | A |
| Birmingham Township | 22% | 0.4 | 39 | 81% | A− |
| Concord Township | 11% | 1.2 | 39 | 83% | A |
| Thornbury Township | 10% | 1.0 | 72 | 92% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Chadds Ford Township
Where can I hike in Chadds Ford Township?
The longest trail networks: Brinton Run Preserve, 2.2 miles; Brandywine Battlefield Park, 0.5 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Chadds Ford Township is conserved land?
31% 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 Chadds Ford Township’s trails?
Brinton Run Preserve and Brandywine Battlefield Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Chadds Ford Township?
24,268 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Chadds Ford Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 255 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Chadds Ford Township have?
Ahead of 91% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #114 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 Chadds Ford 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 →