Chester Waterside Station of the Philadelphia Electric Company · Photo: Jack Boucher · Public domain9% of Chester’s land is conserved, and virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park. The biggest trail networks: Chester Park (0.6 mi). 9% of Chester’s land is conserved, about 288 acres.
Ahead of 79% of U.S. towns · #320 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
What kind of outdoors town is Chester?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
How much outdoors does Chester have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Chester is ahead of 79% of U.S. towns, #320 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
Pennsylvania towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 8%; the U.S., 4%), so Chester’s 9% is ahead of 55% of Pennsylvania towns, while its trails per square mile lead 51% of them.
Water is 20% of Chester’s area (1 of 6 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 8%.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Pick a walk
The longest trail network is Chester Park, with 0.6 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Memorial Field and the Bown Garden
All 11 parks & preserves
288 conserved acres
9% of Chester’s land. Water is left out: Chester has 4.8 square miles of land and 1.2 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Chester’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1 acre is a conservation easement, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 3 of 25 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chester Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 79 | Open |
| Crozer Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 49 | Open |
| Martin Luther King Memorial Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 24 | Open |
| Sun Village Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 21 | Open |
| Preston Place Field Local Recreation Area | Other or Unknown Local Government | 17 | Open |
| Deshong Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 17 | Open |
| Barry Bridge Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 17 | Open |
| Western Little League Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 12 | Open |
| Municipal Land Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 12 | Open |
| County Land Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 12 | Unknown |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
12 places to go in Chester
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Plus 9 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
1 lakes & rivers
2.2 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
8 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 5 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
The best walking months in Chester: 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) | 42 | 44 | 53 | 65 | 74 | 83 | 88 | 86 | 79 | 67 | 56 | 46 |
| Rain (in) | 3.2 | 2.8 | 4.1 | 3.7 | 3.5 | 4.3 | 4.5 | 4.4 | 4.7 | 3.7 | 3.1 | 4.0 |
February is the driest month (2.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 88 °F). 4.7 inches fall in September, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 88 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Chester →
Chester 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chester | 9% | 0.5 | 9 | 99%+ | A− |
| Chester Township | 6% | 1.8 | 16 | 99%+ | A |
| Upland | 15% | under 0.1 | 25 | 99%+ | B+ |
| Nether Providence Township | 7% | 2.4 | 14 | 99%+ | A |
| Woodlyn | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Ridley Township | 5% | 0.3 | 5 | 99%+ | B+ |
| Trainer | 12% | under 0.1 | 44 | 99%+ | B+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Chester
Where can I hike in Chester?
The longest trail networks: Chester Park, 0.6 miles; Memorial Field and the Bown Garden, 0.4 miles; Deshong Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Chester is conserved land?
9% 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 Chester’s trails?
Chester Park and Memorial Field and the Bown Garden don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Chester?
2.2 miles of bike routes are on the map: 2.2 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Chester?
20,102 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Chester or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 301 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Chester have?
Ahead of 79% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #320 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 Chester neighbors.
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 →