Englehart Melchinger House · Photo: Smallbones · CC0Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park in Dover
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park. 5% of Dover’s land is conserved, about 17 acres. 17 acres are parks and preserves, 8.8 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 50% of U.S. towns. What drives it
What kind of outdoors town is Dover?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
How much outdoors does Dover have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Dover is ahead of 50% of U.S. towns. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
Pennsylvania towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 8%; the U.S., 4%), so Dover’s 5% is ahead of 33% of Pennsylvania towns, while its trails per square mile lead 3% of them.
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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
17 conserved acres
5% of Dover’s land. Who manages Dover’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ketterman Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 13 | Open |
| Municipal Land Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 5 | Open |
0.0 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.
1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
The best walking months in Dover: 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 | 42 | 51 | 63 | 73 | 81 | 86 | 84 | 77 | 65 | 53 | 43 |
| Rain (in) | 3.0 | 2.5 | 3.8 | 3.6 | 3.9 | 4.0 | 4.4 | 3.9 | 4.6 | 3.9 | 3.1 | 3.4 |
February is the driest month (2.5 in) and July the warmest (highs of 86 °F). 4.6 inches fall in September, the wettest month. The climate in Dover →
Dover and its neighbors
Dover has the second most mapped trails of the 2 towns around it. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dover | 5% | under 0.1 | 9 | 99%+ | B− |
| Weigelstown | — 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 Dover
How much of Dover is conserved land?
5% 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 Dover’s trails?
Alda Ketterman Park doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Dover?
6,498 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Dover or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 17 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Dover have?
Ahead of 50% 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 Dover 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 →