Hershey Gardens
Park
40 acres1.8 mi of trail
Arboretum Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Paulo Ordoveza from Washington, DC · CC BY 2.0BOutdoors
Outdoors in Derry Township
Derry Township has 29 miles of mapped trails, 1.1 for every square mile of land
The biggest trail networks: Hershey Gardens (1.8 mi), Shank Park (1.4 mi), Alumni Memorial Grove Park (0.9 mi). 2% of Derry Township’s land is conserved, about 378 acres. 349 acres are parks and preserves, 14 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 61% of U.S. towns · #612 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Conserved land
2%
378 acres · of 27.1 sq mi of land
Trails
29 mi
1.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
349 ac
14 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
63%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
14 mi
14 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
4
What kind of outdoors town is Derry Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Derry Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Derry Township is ahead of 61% of U.S. towns, #612 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. Trail miles hold the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Derry Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land2% of the land · typical PA town 8% · U.S. 4%C+Trails1.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (29 mi) · PA 0.4 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land14 acres of park per 1,000 residents (349 acres) · PA 14 · U.S. 13BParks close to home63% 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 61%
LessMore
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,037)Ahead of 41%
Pennsylvania towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 8%; the U.S., 4%), so Derry Township’s 2% is ahead of 14% of Pennsylvania towns, while its trails per square mile lead 79% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B− 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 Hershey Gardens, with 1.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Shank Park
Park
80 acres1.4 mi of trail
Shank Park Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Alumni Memorial Grove Park
Park
21 acres0.9 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 13 parks & preserves
Hershey Gardens40 acres · 1.8 mi of trail
Shank Park80 acres · 1.4 mi of trail
DirectionsAlumni Memorial Grove Park21 acres · 0.9 mi of trail
DirectionsFounder's Park36 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsGelder Park14 acres
DirectionsBrookside Park9 acres
Palmdale Park8 acres
Boathouse Park7 acres
Koons Park4 acres
Old Swatara Landing Strip4 acres
Bullfrog Valley Park2 acres
DirectionsEby Park2 acres
Chocolate Town Square1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
378 conserved acres
2% of Derry Township’s land. Who manages Derry Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits385 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government208 ac
County17 ac
Not recorded65 ac
Local Park · 208 acForest Stewardship Easement · 192 acConservation Easement · 97 acUnknown Easement · 96 acLocal Other or Unknown · 65 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 105 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 19 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shank Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 87 | Open |
| Municipal Land Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 61 | Open |
| Founders Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 41 | Open |
| Gelder Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 28 | Open |
| Cocoa Castle Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 18 | Open |
| Brookside Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 11 | Open |
| Palmdale Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 9 | Open |
| Boathouse Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 7 | Open |
| Fema Flood Buyout (County Or Municipal Owned) Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 4 | Open |
| Koons Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 4 | Open |
2 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
35 places to go in Derry Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in Derry Township
Waverider
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Derry Township
Cocoa Castle
DirectionsThe Children's GardenIn Hershey Gardens
DirectionsPlus 19 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Scenic views in Derry Township
4 scenic views without a name on the map.
Picnic areas in Derry Township
Original Carrousel Circle
DirectionsPlus 6 picnic areas without a name on the map.
Campgrounds in Derry Township
Hersheypark Camping ResortFee
DirectionsDisc golf in Derry Township
Shank Park Disc GolfIn Shank Park
DirectionsTrails & water
14 named trails and 4 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 13.9 miHorses · 2.0 miUnpaved · 2.5 mi
Horse-Shoe Trail4.2 mi
W32.2 mi
Parkview XC Course2.1 mi
E11.7 mi
Shank Park Trail1.5 mi
E31.4 mi
W11.1 mi
W41.0 mi
E40.7 mi
E50.7 mi
4 more trails
West End Connector
0.6 miW5
0.5 miE2
0.3 miArboretum Trail
0.1 miLakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
14 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
14 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
38Tennis
23Basketball
21Baseball
18Soccer
5Football
4Beach volleyball
3Multi-sport
1Volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →4 places on the National Register, one a National Historic Landmark
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 2 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The best walking months in Derry 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 | 14.8 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 9.9 | 9.3 |
| High (°F) | 38 | 41 | 50 | 63 | 73 | 81 | 86 | 83 | 77 | 65 | 53 | 43 |
| Rain (in) | 3.3 | 2.6 | 3.8 | 3.8 | 3.9 | 4.3 | 4.6 | 4.2 | 4.7 | 4.2 | 3.3 | 3.6 |
February is the driest month (2.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 86 °F). 4.7 inches fall in September, the wettest month. The climate in Derry Township →
Next door
Derry Township and its neighbors
Derry Township has the most mapped trails of the 8 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Derry Township29 miHershey25 miEast Hanover Township19 miSouth Hanover Township5.5 miLower Swatara Township3.4 miSwatara Township2.1 miHummelstown1.2 miUnion Deposit0.3 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Derry Township | 2% | 1.1 | 14 | 63% | B |
| East Hanover Township | 21% | 0.5 | 20 | 17% | B |
| Hershey | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| South Hanover Township | 3% | 0.5 | 18 | 70% | B |
| Lower Swatara Township | 2% | 0.3 | 13 | 91% | B |
| Hummelstown | 4% | 1.0 | 7 | 93% | B+ |
| Swatara Township | 5% | 0.2 | 7 | 80% | B− |
| Union Deposit | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Derry Township
Where can I hike in Derry Township?
The longest trail networks: Hershey Gardens, 1.8 miles; Shank Park, 1.4 miles; Alumni Memorial Grove Park, 0.9 miles; Founder's Park, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Derry Township is conserved land?
2% 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 Derry Township’s trails?
Hershey Gardens and Shank Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Derry Township?
14 miles of bike routes are on the map: 14 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Derry Township?
22,962 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Derry Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 349 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Derry Township have?
Ahead of 61% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #612 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 Derry 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 →