Churchill Valley Greenway
Managed by Allegheny Land Trust
100 acres1.7 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Lee Paxton · CC BY-SA 4.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Churchill
Churchill has 153 acres of parks, 50 for every 1,000 residents
4.8 miles of mapped trail cross Churchill, 2.2 per square mile of land. 11% of Churchill’s land is conserved, about 150 acres. The biggest trail networks: Churchill Valley Greenway (1.7 mi).
Ahead of 93% of U.S. towns · #85 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Conserved land
11%
150 acres · of 2.2 sq mi of land
Trails
4.8 mi
2.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
153 ac
50 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
83%
of residents within ½ mile
What kind of outdoors town is Churchill?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Churchill have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Churchill is ahead of 93% of U.S. towns, #85 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; trail miles rank highest, the share of residents near a park lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Churchill’s overall grade.
Conserved land11% of the land · typical PA town 8% · U.S. 4%A−Trails2.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (5 mi) · PA 0.4 · U.S. 0.4APark land50 acres of park per 1,000 residents (153 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 93%
LessMore
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,037)Ahead of 92%
Pennsylvania towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 8%; the U.S., 4%), so Churchill’s 11% is ahead of 60% of Pennsylvania towns, while its trails per square mile lead 94% 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 Churchill Valley Greenway, with 1.7 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Bullock-Pens Park
Park
29 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Blackridge Park
Park
3 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
150 conserved acres
11% of Churchill’s land. Who manages Churchill’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Other or Unknown Local Government45 ac
Not recorded105 ac
Private Recreation or Education · 100 acLocal Park · 50 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 4 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Church Valley Greenway Private Recreation or Education | Not recorded | 100 | Open |
| Bullock Pens Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 32 | Open |
| Porter's Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 13 | Open |
| Bullock-Pens Mcgrady Road Local Park | Not recorded | 5 | Unknown |
Things to do
1 places to go in Churchill
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Churchill
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
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
9Tennis
2Baseball
1Soccer
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).
Beulah Presbyterian ChurchBuilding · listed 1975
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Churchill: April, May 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 | 14.8 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.9 | 9.3 |
| High (°F) | 37 | 41 | 50 | 63 | 72 | 80 | 83 | 82 | 76 | 64 | 52 | 41 |
| Rain (in) | 3.1 | 2.5 | 3.3 | 3.5 | 3.9 | 4.6 | 4.4 | 3.7 | 3.6 | 3.1 | 3.0 | 3.3 |
February is the driest month (2.5 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 4.6 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Churchill →
Next door
Churchill and its neighbors
Churchill has the second most mapped trails of the 5 towns around it. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Churchill | 11% | 2.2 | 50 | 83% | A |
| Wilkins Township | 4% | 0.4 | 12 | 99%+ | B+ |
| Penn Hills | 3% | 0.7 | 9 | 68% | B |
| Forest Hills | 7% | 1.3 | 11 | 99%+ | A |
| Wilkinsburg | 2% | 0.3 | 2 | 99% | B− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Churchill
Where can I hike in Churchill?
The longest trail networks: Churchill Valley Greenway, 1.7 miles; Bullock-Pens Park, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Churchill is conserved land?
11% 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 Churchill’s trails?
Churchill Valley Greenway and Bullock-Pens Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Churchill?
16,178 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Churchill or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 153 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Churchill have?
Ahead of 93% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #85 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 Churchill 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 →