State Game Lands Number 285
Managed by Pennsylvania Game Commission
1,311 acres6.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Nyttend · Public domainB−Outdoors
Outdoors in Darlington Township
13% of Darlington Township’s land is conserved: 1,873 acres
The biggest trail networks: State Game Lands Number 285 (6.3 mi). 14% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 28 acres are parks and preserves, 15 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 54% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
13%
1,873 acres · of 22.0 sq mi of land
Trails
8.3 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
28 ac
15 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
14%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
2
What kind of outdoors town is Darlington Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Darlington Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Darlington Township is ahead of 54% of U.S. towns. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Darlington Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land13% of the land · typical PA town 8% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (8 mi) · PA 0.4 · U.S. 0.4BPark land15 acres of park per 1,000 residents (28 acres) · PA 14 · U.S. 13BParks close to home14% 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 54%
LessMore
Pennsylvania towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 8%; the U.S., 4%), so Darlington Township’s 13% is ahead of 67% of Pennsylvania towns, while its trails per square mile lead 46% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to B+. 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 State Game Lands Number 285, with 6.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
1,873 conserved acres
13% of Darlington Township’s land. Who manages Darlington Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County1,765 ac
State fish & wildlife1,264 ac
Not recorded28 ac
Agricultural Easement · 1,765 acState Resource Management Area · 1,264 acLocal Other or Unknown · 14 acLocal Park · 13 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 581 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 2 of 20 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| State Game Land 285 State Resource Management Area | State fish & wildlife | 1,264 | Open |
| Darlington Ballfield Local Park | Not recorded | 18 | Unknown |
| Darlington Athletic Field Local Park | Not recorded | 10 | Unknown |
Trails & water
2 lakes & rivers
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
1Football
1Baseball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Darlington Township: April, May, August and September
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) | 9.5 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 13.2 | 14.4 | 15.1 | 14.8 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.3 |
| High (°F) | 36 | 39 | 49 | 62 | 72 | 80 | 84 | 83 | 76 | 64 | 51 | 41 |
| Rain (in) | 3.0 | 2.4 | 3.2 | 3.7 | 3.9 | 4.5 | 4.2 | 3.8 | 3.7 | 3.0 | 2.8 | 3.0 |
February is the driest month (2.4 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 4.5 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Darlington Township →
Next door
Darlington 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Darlington Township | 13% | 0.4 | 15 | 14% | B− |
| South Beaver Township | 8% | 0.7 | 17 | 12% | B |
| Big Beaver | 2% | 0.1 | 128 | 33% | C+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Darlington Township
Where can I hike in Darlington Township?
The longest trail networks: State Game Lands Number 285, 6.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Darlington Township is conserved land?
13% 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 Darlington Township’s trails?
State Game Lands Number 285 doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Darlington Township?
13,645 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Darlington Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,303 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Darlington Township have?
Ahead of 54% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade. 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 Darlington 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 →