29% of Conestoga Township’s land is conserved: 2,698 acres
780 acres are parks and preserves, 200 per 1,000 residents. The biggest trail networks: Safe Harbor Park (1 mi), Shenks Ferry Wildflower Preserve (0.6 mi). 6.7 miles of mapped trail cross Conestoga Township, 0.5 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 87% of U.S. towns · #187 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
What kind of outdoors town is Conestoga Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
How much outdoors does Conestoga Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Conestoga Township is ahead of 87% of U.S. towns, #187 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.
Pennsylvania towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 8%; the U.S., 4%), so Conestoga Township’s 29% is ahead of 89% of Pennsylvania towns, while its trails per square mile lead 52% of them.
Water is 12% of Conestoga Township’s area (2 of 17 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 26%.
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 Safe Harbor Park, with 1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Shenks Ferry Wildflower Preserve
Pequea Nature Preserve
All 5 parks & preserves
2,698 conserved acres
29% of Conestoga Township’s land. Water is left out: Conestoga Township has 14.6 square miles of land and 1.9 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Conestoga Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1,066 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 6 of 108 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Safe Harbor Recreation Area Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 307 | Open |
| Enola Low-Grade Trail Local Recreation Area | Other or Unknown Local Government | 195 | Open |
| Shenk's Ferry Wildflower Preserve Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 169 | Unknown |
| PP&L Environmental Preserve Private Conservation | Private owners | 145 | Unknown |
| Weise Island Private Conservation | Private owners | 133 | Unknown |
| Pequea Nature Preserve Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 119 | Unknown |
| 2006-021 Private Agricultural | Not recorded | 115 | Closed |
| 2013-002 Private Agricultural | Not recorded | 103 | Closed |
| Fox Hollow Nature Preserve Private Conservation | Not recorded | 96 | Open |
| 2015-007 Private Agricultural | Not recorded | 77 | Closed |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
3 places to go in Conestoga Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Plus 2 boat launches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
1 named trail and 3 lakes & rivers
3.6 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.
The best walking months in Conestoga 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) | 39 | 43 | 52 | 64 | 74 | 82 | 86 | 84 | 78 | 66 | 54 | 44 |
| Rain (in) | 3.1 | 2.6 | 3.8 | 3.6 | 3.7 | 4.1 | 4.4 | 3.9 | 4.6 | 4.2 | 3.1 | 3.6 |
February is the driest month (2.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 86 °F). 4.6 inches fall in September, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 86 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Conestoga Township →
Conestoga 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conestoga Township | 29% | 0.5 | 200 | 64% | A |
| Martic Township | 43% | 1.6 | 825 | 71% | A+ |
| Manor Township | 36% | 0.5 | 45 | 75% | A |
| Pequea Township | 30% | 0.4 | 26 | 26% | B+ |
| Chanceford Township | 27% | 0.4 | 102 | 28% | B+ |
| Lower Chanceford Township | 33% | 0.5 | 343 | 17% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Conestoga Township
Where can I hike in Conestoga Township?
The longest trail networks: Safe Harbor Park, 1 miles; Shenks Ferry Wildflower Preserve, 0.6 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Conestoga Township is conserved land?
29% 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 Conestoga Township’s trails?
Safe Harbor Park and Shenks Ferry Wildflower Preserve don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Conestoga Township?
3.6 miles of bike routes are on the map: 3.6 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Conestoga Township?
16,257 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Conestoga Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 793 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Conestoga Township have?
Ahead of 87% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #187 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 Conestoga Township 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 →