Lake Ethel Natural Area
Park
19 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Derry
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park in Derry
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park. 0.5 miles of mapped trail cross Derry, 0.6 per square mile of land. 33 acres are parks and preserves, 12 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 75% of U.S. towns · #377 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Conserved land
3%
14 acres · of 0.8 sq mi of land
Trails
0.5 mi
0.6 per sq mi of land
Park land
33 ac
12 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
What kind of outdoors town is Derry?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Derry have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Derry is ahead of 75% of U.S. towns, #377 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Derry’s overall grade.
Conserved land3% of the land · typical PA town 8% · U.S. 4%B−Trails0.6 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · PA 0.4 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land12 acres of park per 1,000 residents (33 acres) · PA 14 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to homeVirtually all residents within a half mile of a park · PA 73% · U.S. 72%A+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 75%
LessMore
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,037)Ahead of 64%
Pennsylvania towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 8%; the U.S., 4%), so Derry’s 3% is ahead of 19% of Pennsylvania towns, while its trails per square mile lead 64% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B 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 Lake Ethel Natural Area, with 0.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Derry Community Park
Park
4 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Mossback Park
Park
1 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
14 conserved acres
3% of Derry’s land. Who manages Derry’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Other or Unknown Local Government13 ac
Not recorded1 ac
Local Recreation Area · 13 acLocal Park · 1 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 3 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Derry Recreation Area Local Park | Not recorded | 10 | Unknown |
| Derry Area Ball Field & Derry Community Pool Local Recreation Area | Other or Unknown Local Government | 4 | Open |
When to get out
The best walking months in Derry: 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 | 42 |
| Rain (in) | 3.5 | 3.1 | 3.8 | 4.1 | 4.4 | 4.8 | 4.6 | 4.3 | 4.2 | 3.5 | 3.6 | 3.8 |
February is the driest month (3.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 4.8 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Derry →
Questions about parks and trails in Derry
Where can I hike in Derry?
The longest trail networks: Lake Ethel Natural Area, 0.2 miles; Derry Community Park, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Derry is conserved land?
3% 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’s trails?
Lake Ethel Natural Area and Derry Community Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Derry?
8,936 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Derry or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 33 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Derry have?
Ahead of 75% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #377 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 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 →