Apollo County Park
Nature preserve
332 acres4.7 mi of trail
Mason-Dixon Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Nicholas · CC BY 2.0B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Chanceford Township
27% of Chanceford Township’s land is conserved: 8,320 acres
606 acres are parks and preserves, 102 per 1,000 residents. The biggest trail networks: Apollo County Park (4.7 mi), Otter Creek Nature Preserve (1 mi), Susquehannock State Park (0.8 mi). 28% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 74% of U.S. towns · #402 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Conserved land
27%
8,320 acres · of 48.5 sq mi of land
Trails
18 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
606 ac
102 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
28%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Chanceford Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Chanceford Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Chanceford Township is ahead of 74% of U.S. towns, #402 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 Chanceford Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land27% of the land · typical PA town 8% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (18 mi) · PA 0.4 · U.S. 0.4BPark land102 acres of park per 1,000 residents (606 acres) · PA 14 · U.S. 13AParks close to home28% 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 74%
LessMore
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,037)Ahead of 61%
Pennsylvania towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 8%; the U.S., 4%), so Chanceford Township’s 27% is ahead of 87% of Pennsylvania towns, while its trails per square mile lead 46% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B 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 Apollo County Park, with 4.7 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Otter Creek Nature Preserve
Managed by Lancaster Conservancy
76 acres1 mi of trail
Mason-Dixon TrailRed TrailMason-Dixon Trail/ Red Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Susquehannock State Park
Managed by Pennsylvania Bureau of State Parks
164 acres0.8 mi of trail
Mason-Dixon Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
State Game Lands Number 83
Managed by Pennsylvania Game Commission
88 acres0.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Who protects it
8,320 conserved acres
27% of Chanceford Township’s land. Who manages Chanceford Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County26,885 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits1,164 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)590 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government369 ac
Other state land208 ac
State fish & wildlife171 ac
State parks155 ac
Agricultural Easement · 27,591 acForest Stewardship Easement · 590 acConservation Easement · 520 acLocal Park · 369 acPrivate Agricultural · 190 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 7,357 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apollo Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 332 | Open |
| Susquehannock State Park State Park | State parks | 155 | Open |
| Otter Creek Nature Preserve Private Conservation | Not recorded | 146 | Open |
| Maple Spring Farms Partnership Private Agricultural | Not recorded | 144 | Closed |
| Fishing Creek State Other or Unknown | State fish & wildlife | 88 | Open |
| State Game Land 083 State Resource Management Area | State fish & wildlife | 83 | Open |
| Keller-Merrick, Lydia Private Agricultural | Not recorded | 45 | Closed |
| New Bridgeville Fire Hall Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 29 | Open |
| Chanceford Crossings Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 9 | Open |
| Creek Forks Road Recreation Area Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 4 | Open |
Trails & water
3 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 3.9 miUnpaved · 2.7 mi
Mason-Dixon Trail9.3 mi
Red Trail0.2 mi
Mason-Dixon Trail/ Red Trail0.1 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
6Baseball
1Basketball
1Tennis
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Guinston United Presbyterian ChurchBuilding · listed 1976
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Chanceford 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) | 38 | 42 | 51 | 63 | 72 | 80 | 85 | 83 | 76 | 65 | 53 | 43 |
| Rain (in) | 3.2 | 2.7 | 4.0 | 3.6 | 3.8 | 4.2 | 4.5 | 3.9 | 4.8 | 4.2 | 3.3 | 3.7 |
February is the driest month (2.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 85 °F). 4.8 inches fall in September, the wettest month. The climate in Chanceford Township →
Next door
Chanceford Township and its neighbors
Chanceford Township has the second most mapped trails of the 8 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Lower Chanceford Township23 miChanceford Township18 miManor Township18 miLower Windsor Township10 miNorth Hopewell Township9.0 miConestoga Township6.7 miWindsor Township5.4 miFelton1.0 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chanceford Township | 27% | 0.4 | 102 | 28% | B+ |
| Lower Windsor Township | 16% | 0.4 | 108 | 28% | B+ |
| Manor Township | 36% | 0.5 | 45 | 75% | A |
| Windsor Township | 4% | 0.2 | 3 | 36% | C |
| North Hopewell Township | 13% | 0.5 | 160 | 10% | B+ |
| Felton | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Conestoga Township | 29% | 0.5 | 200 | 64% | A |
| Lower Chanceford Township | 33% | 0.5 | 343 | 17% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Chanceford Township
Where can I hike in Chanceford Township?
The longest trail networks: Apollo County Park, 4.7 miles; Otter Creek Nature Preserve, 1 miles; Susquehannock State Park, 0.8 miles; Conrad's Park, 0.6 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Chanceford Township is conserved land?
27% 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 Chanceford Township’s trails?
Apollo County Park and Otter Creek Nature Preserve don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Chanceford Township?
21,449 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Chanceford Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 774 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Chanceford Township have?
Ahead of 74% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #402 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 Chanceford 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 →