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Fresh oil and chipsPhoto: Christopher Meng · CC BY-SA 4.0
AOutdoors
Outdoors in Dickinson Township

40% of Dickinson Township’s land is conserved: 11,612 acres

1,750 acres are parks and preserves, 325 per 1,000 residents. 54 miles of mapped trail cross Dickinson Township, 1.2 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Michaux State Forest (30.1 mi), Kings Gap Environmental Education Center (16.7 mi).

Ahead of 88% of U.S. towns · #179 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. What drives it

Conserved land
40%
11,612 acres · of 45.8 sq mi of land
Trails
54 mi
1.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,750 ac
325 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
24%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
3.8 mi
3.8 mi paths
Highest peak
1,601 ft
Buck Ridge Tower
Lakes & rivers
2

What kind of outdoors town is Dickinson Township?

Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.

Land that stays wild40% of the land is conserved; a typical Pennsylvania town, 8%.Room to roam325 acres of park per 1,000 residents; the typical U.S. town has 13.A trail town1.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, more than 84% of U.S. towns.
Outdoors grade

How much outdoors does Dickinson Township have?

On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Dickinson Township is ahead of 88% of U.S. towns, #179 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.

A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Dickinson Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land40% of the land · typical PA town 8% · U.S. 4%A+Trails1.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (54 mi) · PA 0.4 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land325 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,750 acres) · PA 14 · U.S. 13AParks close to home24% 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 88%
LessMore
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,037)Ahead of 83%

Pennsylvania towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 8%; the U.S., 4%), so Dickinson Township’s 40% is ahead of 96% of Pennsylvania towns, while its trails per square mile lead 82% of them.

How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from A− 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.

1234
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 Michaux State Forest, with 30.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.

Michaux State Forest

Managed by Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry
6,614 acres30.1 mi of trail
Appalachian National Scenic TrailVistaChestnut Ridge TrailBuck Ridge Trail+1
Dogs on leash
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗

Kings Gap Environmental Education Center

Managed by Pennsylvania Bureau of State Parks
1,427 acres16.7 mi of trail
Scenic Vista TrailBoundary TrailRock Scree TrailKings Gap Hollow Trail+1
Dogs on leash
Directionsto Pond Area ParkingWebsite ↗

Mount Holly Marsh Preserve

Nature preserve
173 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗

Pine Grove Furnace State Park

Managed by Pennsylvania Bureau of State Parks
3 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Who protects it

11,612 conserved acres

40% of Dickinson Township’s land. Who manages Dickinson Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.

County11,287 ac
State natural resources6,534 ac
State parks1,455 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits298 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)264 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government262 ac
Joint179 ac
State Resource Management Area · 13,069 acAgricultural Easement · 11,730 acState Park · 1,496 acState Other or Unknown · 1,470 acLocal Conservation Area · 297 ac
Good to know

Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 3,026 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 4 of 144 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.

The biggest protected parcels
Parcel (PAD-US)Managed byAcresPublic access
Michaux State Forest
State Resource Management Area
State natural resources13,069Open
Kings Gap State Park
State Park
Not recorded1,426Unknown
Kings Gap Environmental Education Center
State Other or Unknown
State parks1,366Open
Mount Holly Marsh Preserve
Local Conservation Area
Other or Unknown Local Government238Open
South Mountain (Kings Gap Forest Pools Preserve)
State Park
Not recorded202Unknown
Appalachian National Scenic Trail
National Scenic or Historic Trail
National Park Service102Open
Williams, Wc
Private Agricultural
Not recorded89Closed
Kings Gap Forest Pools Area
State Other or Unknown
State parks67Open
Mount Holly Marsh Preserve (Cumberland County-Owned)
Local Conservation Area
Not recorded58Open
Forest Pools Area
State Other or Unknown
State parks56Open

4 smaller protected places aren’t shown.

Things to do

8 places to go in Dickinson Township

Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.

Scenic views in Dickinson Township
Locust PointIn Kings Gap Environmental Education Center
Directions
Scenic VistaIn Kings Gap Environmental Education Center
Directions

Plus 1 scenic view without a name on the map.

Trails & water

25 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers

Named trails
Open to bikes · 9.0 miHorses · 4.2 miUnpaved · 13.5 mi
Appalachian National Scenic Trail5.4 mi
Vista2.5 mi
Boundary Trail2.5 mi
Scenic Vista Trail2.2 mi
Chestnut Ridge Trail1.7 mi
Rock Scree Trail1.7 mi
Buck Ridge Trail1.6 mi
Kings Gap Hollow Trail1.6 mi
Watershed Trail1.4 mi
Forest Heritage Trail1.3 mi
15 more trails
Maple Hollow Trail
1.1 mi
Black Gum Trail
1.1 mi
Dream Weaver
1.0 mi
Piney Mountain Ridge Trail
0.9 mi
Locust Point Trail
0.9 mi
Pine Plantation Trail
0.8 mi
Ridge Overlook Trail
0.7 mi
Moss Traverse
0.6 mi
Woodland Ecology Trail
0.5 mi
Cold Spring Trail
0.4 mi
Ejector
0.4 mi
Traverse Trail
0.3 mi
Hammy
0.3 mi
Boundary/Watershed Trail
0.3 mi
White Oaks Trail
0.3 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Mount Holly Springs ReservoirreservoirYellow Breeches Creek
Biking & sports

3.8 miles of bike routes

Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.

3.8 mi
off-road bike paths
When to get out

The best walking months in Dickinson Township: April to 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.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)9.610.611.813.214.415.014.713.712.411.19.99.3
High (°F)384150637381868477655342
Rain (in)3.22.63.83.94.14.24.03.74.73.83.33.5

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 Dickinson Township →

Next door

Dickinson Township and its neighbors

Dickinson Township has the second most mapped trails of the 5 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.

Cooke Township87 miDickinson Township54 miSouth Middleton Township32 miWest Pennsboro Township4.3 miPenn Township4.1 mi
TownConserved
of land		Trail mi
per sq mi		Park acres
per 1,000		Near a park
½ mile		Outdoors
Dickinson Township40%1.232524%A
West Pennsboro Township23%0.12634%B
South Middleton Township18%0.79047%A−
Penn Township32%0.134120%B+
Cooke Township— 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 Dickinson Township

Where can I hike in Dickinson Township?

The longest trail networks: Michaux State Forest, 30.1 miles; Kings Gap Environmental Education Center, 16.7 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.

How much of Dickinson Township is conserved land?

40% 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 Dickinson Township’s trails?

OpenStreetMap records dogs as welcome at Michaux State Forest (on leash) and Kings Gap Environmental Education Center (on leash). For the rest, check the signs at the trailhead.

Where can I bike in Dickinson Township?

3.8 miles of bike routes are on the map: 3.8 of off-road paths.

Is there public land near Dickinson Township?

58,264 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Dickinson Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 8,463 of them inside the town line.

How much outdoors does Dickinson Township have?

Ahead of 88% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #179 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 Dickinson Township neighbors.

Town Square →
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 →