Brightside Farm
Managed by Charlestown Township
73 acres0.9 mi of trail
Horse-Shoe Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Martin-Little House · Photo: Smallbones · CC0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Charlestown Township
31% of Charlestown Township’s land is conserved: 2,431 acres
15 miles of mapped trail cross Charlestown Township, 1.2 per square mile of land. 278 acres are parks and preserves, 44 per 1,000 residents. The biggest trail networks: Brightside Farm (0.9 mi).
Ahead of 94% of U.S. towns · #66 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Conserved land
31%
2,431 acres · of 12.5 sq mi of land
Trails
15 mi
1.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
278 ac
44 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
83%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Charlestown Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Charlestown Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Charlestown Township is ahead of 94% of U.S. towns, #66 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 Charlestown Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land31% of the land · typical PA town 8% · U.S. 4%ATrails1.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (15 mi) · PA 0.4 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land44 acres of park per 1,000 residents (278 acres) · PA 14 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home83% 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 94%
LessMore
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,037)Ahead of 94%
Pennsylvania towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 8%; the U.S., 4%), so Charlestown Township’s 31% is ahead of 91% of Pennsylvania towns, while its trails per square mile lead 83% 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 Brightside Farm, with 0.9 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Charlestown Park
Managed by Charlestown Township
40 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Who protects it
2,431 conserved acres
31% of Charlestown Township’s land. Who manages Charlestown Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits8,608 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government381 ac
Joint134 ac
Town or city52 ac
Other Easement · 3,472 acConservation Easement · 2,490 acAgricultural Easement · 2,011 acForest Stewardship Easement · 485 acUnknown Easement · 314 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 2,154 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pickering Preserve - Charlestown Local Conservation Area | Other or Unknown Local Government | 102 | Open |
| Yellow Springs Rd. Open Space Local Recreation Area | Other or Unknown Local Government | 73 | Open |
| Brightside Farm Private Agricultural | Town or city | 52 | Closed |
| Charlestown Township Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 40 | Open |
| Phoenixville Pike Open Space Local Recreation Area | Other or Unknown Local Government | 35 | Open |
| Valley Hill Rd Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 17 | Open |
| Devault Open Space Local Recreation Area | Other or Unknown Local Government | 7 | Open |
| Historic Mill Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 1 | Open |
| Revolutionary War Cemetery Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 1 | Open |
Things to do
13 places to go in Charlestown Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in Charlestown Township
pool
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Charlestown Township
11 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Community gardens in Charlestown Township
Brightside Farm Park Community GardenFee · In Brightside Farm
DirectionsTrails & water
6 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 0.9 miHorses · 5.4 miUnpaved · 3.7 mi
Horse-Shoe Trail5.2 mi
Thompson Trail1.2 mi
Pickering Trail0.8 mi
McDevitt Trail0.6 mi
Pickering Dam Trail0.5 mi
Walking path0.3 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
17Tennis
5Soccer
2Basketball
1Golf
1Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →6 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 4 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Martin-Little HouseBuilding · listed 1973
About itOskar G. Stonorov HouseBuilding · listed 1975
About itCharlestown Village Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1978
About itJohn Williams FarmDistrict · listed 1978
About itJacob Wisner HouseBuilding · listed 1979
About itMiddle Pickering Rural Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1991
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Charlestown 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 | 9.3 |
| High (°F) | 40 | 43 | 51 | 64 | 74 | 82 | 87 | 85 | 78 | 66 | 55 | 45 |
| Rain (in) | 3.3 | 2.8 | 4.1 | 3.7 | 3.8 | 4.4 | 4.7 | 4.3 | 4.7 | 4.1 | 3.2 | 4.1 |
February is the driest month (2.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 87 °F). 4.7 inches fall in July, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 87 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Charlestown Township →
Next door
Charlestown Township and its neighbors
Charlestown Township has the second most mapped trails of the 5 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
West Pikeland Township16 miCharlestown Township15 miSchuylkill Township8.8 miEast Whiteland Township5.7 miUwchlan Township2.9 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charlestown Township | 31% | 1.2 | 44 | 83% | A |
| Schuylkill Township | 12% | 1.0 | 6 | 72% | B+ |
| Uwchlan Township | 8% | 0.3 | 15 | 87% | B+ |
| West Pikeland Township | 30% | 1.6 | 126 | 84% | A+ |
| East Whiteland Township | 3% | 0.5 | 16 | 81% | B+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Charlestown Township
Where can I hike in Charlestown Township?
The longest trail networks: Brightside Farm, 0.9 miles; Charlestown Park, 0.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Charlestown 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 Charlestown Township’s trails?
Brightside Farm and Charlestown Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Charlestown Township?
26,199 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Charlestown Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 278 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Charlestown Township have?
Ahead of 94% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #66 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 Charlestown 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 →