Theodore A. Parker III Natural Area
Managed by Lancaster County Parks & Recreation
70 acres1.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
White Rock Forge Covered Bridge · Photo: Photo by and (c)2006 Derek Ramsey (Ram-Man) · CC BY-SA 2.5BOutdoors
Outdoors in Colerain Township
31% of Colerain Township’s land is conserved: 5,698 acres
The biggest trail networks: Theodore A. Parker III Natural Area (1.2 mi), Octoraro Lake Watershed (0.7 mi), State Game Lands Number 136 (0.5 mi). 91 acres are parks and preserves, 23 per 1,000 residents. 25% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 62% of U.S. towns · #593 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Conserved land
31%
5,698 acres · of 28.4 sq mi of land
Trails
7.2 mi
0.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
91 ac
23 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
25%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
4
1 beach · 2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Colerain Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Colerain Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Colerain Township is ahead of 62% of U.S. towns, #593 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 Colerain Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land31% of the land · typical PA town 8% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (7 mi) · PA 0.4 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land23 acres of park per 1,000 residents (91 acres) · PA 14 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home25% 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 62%
LessMore
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,037)Ahead of 43%
Pennsylvania towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 8%; the U.S., 4%), so Colerain Township’s 31% is ahead of 91% of Pennsylvania towns, while its trails per square mile lead 36% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ 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 Theodore A. Parker III Natural Area, with 1.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Octoraro Lake Watershed
Managed by Chester Water Authority
1,094 acres0.7 mi of trail
Octoraro Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
State Game Lands Number 136
Managed by Pennsylvania Game Commission
91 acres0.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Who protects it
5,698 conserved acres
31% of Colerain Township’s land. Who manages Colerain Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County8,798 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits6,662 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)111 ac
State fish & wildlife89 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government75 ac
Other state land1 ac
Not recorded2,010 ac
Agricultural Easement · 10,737 acConservation Easement · 4,701 acPrivate Agricultural · 1,908 acUnknown Easement · 181 acLocal Park · 106 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 3,613 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 7 of 258 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999-004 Private Agricultural | Not recorded | 132 | Closed |
| 1999-007-1 Private Agricultural | Not recorded | 95 | Closed |
| State Game Land 136 State Resource Management Area | State fish & wildlife | 89 | Open |
| 2001-024 Private Agricultural | Not recorded | 88 | Closed |
| 2019-011 Private Agricultural | Not recorded | 87 | Closed |
| 2006-002 Private Agricultural | Not recorded | 85 | Closed |
| 2020-012 Private Agricultural | Not recorded | 78 | Closed |
| 2013-018 Private Agricultural | Not recorded | 77 | Closed |
| 2012-023 Private Agricultural | Not recorded | 77 | Closed |
| 2010-011 Private Agricultural | Not recorded | 75 | Closed |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
7 places to go in Colerain Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Colerain Township
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Colerain Township
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Colerain Township
2 boat launches without a name on the map.
Campgrounds in Colerain Township
Black Rock Retreat
DirectionsOma's Family Campground
DirectionsTrails & water
8 named trails and 4 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Octoraro Trail0.5 mi
Deerlick Trail0.4 mi
Poplar Trail0.3 mi
White Oak Trail0.2 mi
Mountain Bike Trail0.2 mi
Rocky Ridge Trail0.2 mi
Treetop Trail0.2 mi
Red Oak 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
3Baseball
2Basketball
1Volleyball
1Beach volleyball
1Tennis
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →3 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 1 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The best walking months in Colerain 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) | 40 | 43 | 51 | 64 | 73 | 81 | 86 | 84 | 77 | 66 | 55 | 44 |
| Rain (in) | 3.3 | 2.7 | 4.1 | 3.8 | 3.7 | 4.6 | 4.8 | 4.4 | 4.8 | 4.4 | 3.3 | 4.0 |
February is the driest month (2.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 86 °F). 4.8 inches fall in September, the wettest month. The climate in Colerain Township →
Next door
Colerain Township and its neighbors
Colerain Township has the second most mapped trails of the 5 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Lower Oxford Township14 miColerain Township7.2 miEden Township1.1 miEast Drumore Township0.3 miLittle Britain Township0.1 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colerain Township | 31% | 0.3 | 23 | 25% | B |
| East Drumore Township | 36% | under 0.1 | 17 | 15% | C+ |
| Little Britain Township | 26% | under 0.1 | 27 | 23% | B− |
| Lower Oxford Township | 38% | 0.8 | 129 | 36% | A |
| Eden Township | 16% | 0.1 | 50 | 29% | B |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Colerain Township
Where can I hike in Colerain Township?
The longest trail networks: Theodore A. Parker III Natural Area, 1.2 miles; Octoraro Lake Watershed, 0.7 miles; State Game Lands Number 136, 0.5 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Colerain 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 Colerain Township’s trails?
Theodore A. Parker III Natural Area and Octoraro Lake Watershed don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Colerain Township?
11,952 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Colerain Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 180 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Colerain Township have?
Ahead of 62% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #593 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 Colerain 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 →