Hills Creek State Park
Managed by Pennsylvania Bureau of State Parks
415 acres3.2 mi of trail
Mid-State Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Photo: User:Dincher · CC BY-SA 3.0BOutdoors
Outdoors in Charleston Township
Charleston Township has 589 acres of parks, 167 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Hills Creek State Park (3.2 mi). 7% of Charleston Township’s land is conserved, about 2,219 acres. 28% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 56% of U.S. towns · #669 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Conserved land
7%
2,219 acres · of 52.2 sq mi of land
Trails
6.9 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
589 ac
167 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
28%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
1,942 ft
Shumway Hill
Lakes & rivers
5
1 beach · 4 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Charleston Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Charleston Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Charleston Township is ahead of 56% of U.S. towns, #669 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 Charleston Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land7% of the land · typical PA town 8% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (7 mi) · PA 0.4 · U.S. 0.4CPark land167 acres of park per 1,000 residents (589 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 56%
LessMore
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,037)Ahead of 36%
Pennsylvania towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 8%; the U.S., 4%), so Charleston Township’s 7% is ahead of 44% 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 Hills Creek State Park, with 3.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
State Game Lands Number 37
Managed by Pennsylvania Game Commission
86 acres0.3 mi of trail
Mid-State Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Tioga State Forest
Managed by Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry
20 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Who protects it
2,219 conserved acres
7% of Charleston Township’s land. Who manages Charleston Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits2,980 ac
County1,904 ac
State parks416 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government155 ac
State fish & wildlife86 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)55 ac
State natural resources13 ac
Agricultural Easement · 2,487 acForest Stewardship Easement · 1,343 acConservation Easement · 1,110 acState Park · 831 acLocal Park · 155 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1,549 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hills Creek State Park State Park | State parks | 831 | Open |
| Hamilton Lake Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 155 | Open |
| State Game Land 037 State Resource Management Area | State fish & wildlife | 86 | Open |
| Tioga State Forest State Resource Management Area | State natural resources | 13 | Open |
Things to do
10 places to go in Charleston Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Charleston Township
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in Charleston Township
4 boat launches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Peaks in Charleston Township
Shumway Hill1,942 ft elevation
DirectionsBluff Point1,926 ft elevation
DirectionsReese Hill1,824 ft elevation
DirectionsBarlow Hill1,768 ft elevation
DirectionsCobble Knoll1,588 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
1 named trail and 5 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 0.9 mi
Mid-State Trail4.7 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
When to get out
The best walking months in Charleston Township: May 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 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.5 | 15.2 | 14.9 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.2 |
| High (°F) | 31 | 34 | 43 | 56 | 68 | 76 | 80 | 78 | 71 | 59 | 46 | 36 |
| Rain (in) | 2.8 | 2.2 | 3.1 | 3.5 | 3.7 | 4.0 | 4.1 | 3.7 | 4.3 | 3.8 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
February is the driest month (2.2 in) and July the warmest (highs of 80 °F). 4.3 inches fall in September, the wettest month. The climate in Charleston Township →
Next door
Charleston Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charleston Township | 7% | 0.1 | 167 | 28% | B |
| Delmar Township | 15% | 0.3 | 3 | 1% | C+ |
| Wellsboro | 4% | 0.3 | 36 | 77% | B+ |
| Middlebury Township | 17% | 0.6 | under 1 | under 1% | C |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Charleston Township
Where can I hike in Charleston Township?
The longest trail networks: Hills Creek State Park, 3.2 miles; State Game Lands Number 37, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Charleston 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 Charleston Township’s trails?
Hills Creek State Park and State Game Lands Number 37 don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Charleston Township?
97,788 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Charleston Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 698 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Charleston Township have?
Ahead of 56% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #669 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 Charleston 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 →